Running in Parallels
by Lord of Lies
Summary: Gemma, a 19 year old girl with extraordinary powers, has grown up as an experiment on S.H.E.I.L.D.'s military base. Loki, the Norse god of lies, has fallen from Asgard, and now, he only wants one thing: revenge. What happens when these two parallels collide? *Set after Thor and during Avengers* sorry I suck at summaries! Loki/OC rated M for language and violent themes/topics
1. Trade

Chapter 1

Trade

**Gemma**

Gemma Shepherd, (called 'Gem' by anyone who knew her well enough to understand that her given name was a great annoyance to her) was by no means, an average girl.

At nineteen she was the smartest girl of her age. She absolutely _excelled _in mathematics, sciences and reasoning. She was a trained athlete and showed remarkable potential as a soldier. But those were only the beginning of her strengths. She possessed one more, _powerful_, ability.

Gemma could read minds.

And it wasn't just that. She could make people do things. She could communicate with anyone, anywhere, without opening her mouth.

* * *

It was a power she'd been born with. Her parents, Mark and Carry, had noticed from the get-go that their daughter was different. They'd become aware of the abnormal things that happened whenever young Gemma was concerned. How they'd, as if compelled by some outer supernatural force, _know_ when she needed something and _what _she needed.

It'd become apparent by the time she was in preschool, playing in the dirt box with the other kids, that she possessed a gift. But it wasn't one that her parents were proud of. They grew scared of their only child, a girl who, seemingly, could do as she pleased in the world. A girl who solved her own problems and childish desires through any means necessary. And when her classmate, Terry Westover went missing from the school grounds after a dispute over a plastic toy with Gemma, her parents _knew_ they had to do something.

Mark Shepherd was a scientist and engineer. After doing some research he came in contact with a man called Nick Fury.

When Gemma was at the age of six the family packed up and moved onto the high security military and science base where Fury was located. He'd provided clearance for the family for a maximum of seven months, assuming that the situation with young Gemma would be quickly understood and harnessed. However, that proved, startlingly, to not be the case. At the end of the seven months, the team of highly trained professionals were stumped, thoroughly washed out and defeated.

Fury came to the decision that Gemma Shepherd was simply _too dangerous _to release into the world. Mark and Carry Shepherd came to an agreement with the corporation. Providing that S.H.E.I.L.D. granted the two of them money and credentials, Fury and his team would take over custody of the child in hopes that, with time and effort, they would be able to utilize her abilities.

And so it was.


	2. Rage

Chapter 2

Rage

**Loki**

He felt all-consumed by the white-hot pain that tore threw him, washing over his frail beaten body in waves, sending him into convulsions where he lay. Exactly where that was, Loki did not know. He remembered bits of memories in flashes.

The Ice Giants. Odin. Thor and the battle on the bridge. Each memory that came to surface grew increasingly harder to bare, until, at last, he recalled his last waking moment. The hard, set lines of Odin's face as he said those words.

'no.'

* * *

The only thing Loki had known for a long time was falling. It was worse than death, for there seemed to be no end. He was perfectly aware of the passing of time. He felt no pain nor emotion other than the rejection and the blunt loss he felt for his family.

Finally, after what _seemed_ like centuries had passed, Loki stopped falling. He had, by that time, reverted into himself. Lost track of time, of feeling. He felt almost bored, falling through space and time regarding his ever-changing surroundings with a mere mild disinterest. He bottled up his pain and turned it into anger. Hatred. The lust for revenge. It was those emotions that kept him alive as he fell.

Until he no longer fell.

Snapped into awareness of himself, of the world, Loki realized he had simply stopped moving. He felt a taunt soreness surrounding his body, like thick, tense ropes wound tightly around his slim, starving figure.

And slowly, painfully, those invisible ropes hauled him up. Up through space and time, dragging him trough inter-dimensional rifts and past entire galaxies. Until, at last, he found himself laying, dazed, on solid ground.

That's when the pain hit.

**Gem**

Gemma was up before dawn on a breezy summer day, testing her strength with a bow and arrow. However, it wasn't your average run-of-the-mill bow and arrow. It was modified with special built-ins. Loaded with gun powder that had the force to implode an entire sky scraper.

That is why she was up during the 'ungodly' hours; the weapon wasn't hers to use. She had stolen it. Or rather, borrowed it without asking, (mind you, in the dead of the night, in circumstances requiring much stealth and secrecy). There was an archer living on base, a man called 'Hawkeye.' He had tried, in vain, to get the others to call him 'Clint' but it was the ridiculous sounding nickname that stuck. That was who the bow and arrows belonged to.

Ever since the man had arrived on base Gemma had eyed his weapon with desire. She wanted nothing more than to get her hands on such a powerful tool. However, actually achieving this was much easier said than done. It had taken days of preparation and planning to break into Hawkeye's room and to sneak out with the bow (he actually slept clenching it in his hand).

Gemma was also aware that to return the bow after she had her fun with it would be almost as, if not more, trying. She'd carefully observed Hawkeye's routines and had marked that the man usually was awake by the time the sun rose. Except for on Saturdays. On Saturdays, he liked to sleep in a few extra hours. Which is why Gemma had chosen to steal the bow that day; it would give her some extra time to spare.

Of course, had it not been for her _accident _two months earlier, Gemma might have had a much easier way to procure the bow. She _could _have simply used mind control to get what she wanted from Hawkeye. However, after a slight mishap involving three stolen military vehicles, a midnight extrusion, a high speed motor way cop chase and thousands of dollars in fines and repair, (not to mention _extraordinary _amounts of mind control) Gemma had been confined to the mundane ways of life. That is to say, Fury and his team had placed restrictions on her that she had no way out of. A metal cuff, secured around her neck prevented her from using her abilities.

The cuff was called a 'Mobile Functioning Barrier' or M.F.B. The team had engineered it specifically for Gemma by the time she was fourteen, which, ironically was around the time her powers became to unpredictable and outcomes disastrous. It was designed by a man named Tony Stark. He was a brilliant scientist, as well as being incredibly wealthy and famous. He designed a lot of equipment for S.H.E.I.L.D and was actually a nice guy, provided that he'd had enough to drink.

Despite the fact that Tony had always been amiable towards her, Gemma didn't like him. First of all, he had invented her worst enemy: the M.F.B cuff. Secondly, he was a scoundrel and a womanizer (something Gemma had grown to hate). And thirdly, he refused to call her by her chosen name, Gem, and always referred to her as either Gemma or, if he was in a particularly insensitive mood, with a loopy whirl of his index finger at his temple, as if to imply that _she_ were the crazy one.

Now, under the lightening sky, Gemma Shepherd took relish in the success of an effortlessly executed plan. She felt a growing anticipation in the pit of her stomach as she lifted the bow, notched a particularly fancy arrow, (she suspected it was loaded with a little more then the average gun powder) and drew it back. She was surprised at first at taunt feel to the string. However, years of living with S.H.E.I.L.D. in hot, desolate New Mexico had build her up and a taught bowstring was not even a minor setback for her toned arms and shoulders.

She focused in on her target: a decrepit looking practice bull's eye, worn from decades of violent activity. Expertly, she released the arrow and felt a satisfactory leap of joy in her stomach as the arrow whizzed from her, straight towards the red center.

The moment of joy was short-lived. "Get down!" a deep voice was shouting nearby and to her left. Her heart sank. It was Nick Fury himself. With her abilities hindered by Stark's abhorrent device, Gemma hadn't noticed the man's approach. She was used to relying on her ability to read minds to alert her of any threat and admittedly, she was rusty on her other five senses.

Gemma turned in her shock to scowl at Fury. "GET DOWN YOU IDIOT GIRL!" he screamed. He was only about fifteen feet away now, charging her like a bull. His one eye smoldering with passionate anger. Still, Gemma did not move.

Suddenly, the entirety of the weight of a full grown man crashed down on her, knocking her to the ground face-first. And not a moment too soon. As she hit the ground, an explosion blew up around the training yard. Shards of metal, glass, fire and earth flew through the air.

Spitting dirt out of her mouth, Gemma groaned. She put a hand to her temple feeling the telltale stickiness of blood. _Shit. _She noticed Fury laying motionless not far away. _Double shit. _She thought. If it wasn't Fury who had tackled her it must be one of the soldiers. Which meant, of course, that she was going to have a lot of explaining to do. Fury liked her and if he had been the only one to witness her actions she might have gotten off the hook. _Looks like I'm gonna be spending a lot longer with you, M.F.B. _she thought.

The soldier on top of her shifted his weight off of her with a groan. "Oh fuck". He muttered. Gemma froze. That voice, it didn't belong to just any soldier. It was Hawkeye himself. _Really, really, really shit. _She thought franticly. She was in for it big this time.

He got to his feet. "You okay?" he asked, voice full of concern. Gemma peered up at him through her dark brown hair now singed by the explosion. Blood clotted in her vision and she felt a throbbing ache throughout her entire body. But those things she could live with. It was more a matter of the ordeal that was sure to follow that worried her.

"I'm fine." She muttered, wincing as she applied pressure to the gash on her forehead.

"I have to say, for such an incredibly stupid kid, you sure make a good archer." He told her, grinning. He offered her a hand. She accepted and he pulled her to her feet. Gemma handed him his quiver and bow.

"I'm really sorry-"she began, but he cut her off.

"You're bleeding really bad. We need to get you to the infirmary. Pronto. Fury!" He called out to the man laying on the ground. The man moaned but slowly got to his feet.

"GEMMA! YOU FUCKING-"

"It's Gem." She corrected. Fury lurched towards her but Hawkeye stopped him.

"Ah, it's okay Sir. She didn't do any _real _damage. My bow's okay. No one is dead,"

"REAL DAMAGE? WE ARE LOOKING AT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO REPAIR THIS FUCKING TRAINING YARD!" he bellowed.

Hawkeye chuckled. "Can you walk?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course." Gemma replied haughtily. However, just taking one shaky step caused her to sway. She lurched forward, pitching head-first back onto the ground.

"Woopsie daisies!" Hawkeye laughed, catching the girl before she fell. He scooped her up like a little kid and carried her to the infirmary mumbling something about a mild concussion. She had passed out before they'd even made it indoors.


	3. Healing

Chapter 3

Healing

**Loki**

The pain was ebbing away but Loki wished it would stay. As he slowly began to feel better his head cleared. And with it came a far more real pain. The pain that could only be felt in his mind. In the aching depths of his beating heart. He moaned in misery and contemplated knocking himself out using the hard stone surface upon which he lay. Before he could do so however, a voice stopped him.

"Son of Odin," it began. The voice was deep. Far deeper than that of any other being he had ever heard before.

"I am _not _a son of Odin." He spat, his heart filled with rage. He turned his head, trying to get a better look at the person who'd spoken. The rawness of his skin stopped him from moving. He was still much to sore. Far to weak. His own disabilities disgusted himself.

"Are you not? But it was he who raised you, he who love and cared for yo-" Loki sat up straight, despite the soreness of his tender body. He spied the speaker. A being, man-like in figure though taller. Much, much taller with a long golden beard and twinkling blue eyes.

"I WAS NEVER LOVED!" he screamed. To his surprise, he noticed tears. Mundane, distasteful, abhorrent _tears_ had sprung from his eyes and now ran down his cheeks. They would not stop coming. He cried a unrelenting stream of tears, raking his chest with the painful sobbing until at last, he fell into a fitful sleep; tossing and turning on the stone ground before his mysterious savior.

**Gemma**

Gemma lay in a cot in the infirmary, stunned and silent. Fury was yelling at her, specks of spit flew from his mouth onto her face. It was a spectacle she was used to. Fury always seemed to be mad at her, but it didn't scare her anymore. When she had been younger, Gemma would cry whenever he raised his voice. Now she knew he didn't mean anything by it. He only meant to scare her into submission. The guy would never hurt her, she was like a daughter to him.

"I _am _sorry. If I'd know the arrow was so dangerous I'd never have used it." Gemma explained, while rubbing the bandage on her head absentmindedly. "I'm going to need more gauze, this one is already bleeding through." She added.

"Don't change the subject! Gemma, you could have been seriously injured. Not just you, but you put the lives of everyone on this entire establishment in danger with your actions! Not to mention, you _stole _that weapon from a very, very important soldier. Clint is our most efficient soldier and we cannot afford to loose him!"

"He wasn't even that mad at me." Gemma grumbled, glowering at Fury.

"Well I am! And you have to realize, S.H.E.I.L.D is going to have to take this offense very seriously. If we cannot punish you by crimping on your abilities any further, much more drastic changes are in store."

She nodded, deciding to go with her favorite tactic when it came to getting out of trouble: playing along.

"I understand, Sir." She mumbled, adverting her eyes to her hands to appear innocent and well behaved.

Fury sighed and passed a worn hand over his face rubbing his eye.

"You are a good kid, Gem. I am just incredibly disappointed. And I am worried. You must know that S.H.E.I.L.D. is going to be hard to work with on this one." Leaving her with those words, he strode out of the infirmary.


	4. Wishes

**Hi thanks for your reviews and subscriptions! The feedback is really helping!**

**Just a quick note before The chapter:**

** I haven't read the Thor or Loki comics. I have read the Hawkeye ones though. So I might get some of this wrong. (sorry)**

**The timing of this story is a little messy takes place immediately after Loki falls off of the bifrost bridge at the end of Thor (when it starts on Loki's side, at least) and during the Avengers.**

** I figured that since Loki fell through both space and time, I could work the plot around that. Also, I'm more or less cutting out the scene that was after the credits in Thor.**

**Also, in regards to one of the reviews, Yes, Loki will have his powers. And as for the question about Fury, you'll hear more about that later! Just keep in mind that she did steal a weapon from Clint Barton, blow up the entire training yard (or at least a good portion) and could have genuinely hurt someone. **

**If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to leave a review!**

**Thanks! And without further ado: **

Chapter 4

Wishes

**Loki**

Days past before Loki awoke. In that time the mysterious man had carried the beaten Norse God into a peaceful grove of trees where he'd laid him down upon the leafy floor. Upon awaking Loki instantly felt revived. Almost all of the pain had left his body and his sprits were considerably higher. Now, under the present circumstances, the god could hardly believe that he had let himself succumb to something as mundane and filthy as human emotion. _He had cried himself to sleep._

Yes he remembered that. Falling asleep. It had been a pleasant sleep, without the dreams that had once plagued his mind. Dreams of Thor. Of Odin.

And yet, Loki did not remember coming to this grove. The sunlight filtered down in leafy golden rays so bright that he had to squint. The air was humid, but not in an unpleasant way. The ground was soft and smelled earthy, a sent that was pleasing to Loki. He could smell fresh air, ripe with the mouthwatering smell of blooming flowers and fresh fruit. He had awaken in paradise, and he _hated _it.

"Good morning, my son." The booming voice startled Loki. He jumped to his feet whirling round to face the giant. Instinctively he reached for his staff, preparing to tap into his source of power. However, he immediately noticed that he had no access to his magic.

"I will _not_ hear another of my inferiors refer to themselves as my 'father'. My father is dead. And rightfully so, for are not the Frost Giants the worst creatures of them all? Hadn't we all learn't to fear them from the moment we could do such a thing?" Loki snarled. His bright green eyes flashed dangerously.

"Furthermore, you giant lowlife, WHERE IS MY MAGIC?" Loki now stood as tall as he could. His face was absolutely murderous and any mortal would have feared for their life to be in his presence at that moment.

The giant only smiled peacefully. "I never said that I was your father, Loki. As for your magic; you are on sacred grounds. This is my home and I will not tolerate your sorcery here. I am sure you will find your powers restored by the time you leave this place."

The giant paused and observed Loki's face. His brow was furrowed, his eyes smoldering with fires of ice, the lines of his face looked sharp and deadly. But, the thing that stood out to the giant, above all, was the look of confusion in the god's face. "You wonder how it is that I know your name."

Loki realized the giant was waiting for him to affirm or deny the statement. Slowly, he nodded.

The giant continued. "Loki Laufeyson," Loki shuddered in disgust. "I know all that there is to know about everything. Every planet, every star. I could tell you the most wonderful stories of gods to come, of brave battles once had. And you. I have often desired that I'd get the chance to meet you, Loki. God of mischief and lies… And I always knew the time would come when I got that chance. I have watched the entirety of your life, up until this point. You have always been a mystery to me, Loki. I cannot see your future. I can see you, a young child, playing with your brother-"

"Thor. Is. My. Enemy." Loki growled, but the giant ignored him.

"I can see your child, Sleipnir. I see you, pouring of books, filling your head to the brim and beyond with the intelligence of all the worlds. But I cannot see past this point." The giant sighed.

"Who are you?" Loki finally asked, after a lengthy silence.

"Child, I have many names and would not bother you to know of them all. It's worthless to you, for once you leave this place you will forget me, never to return. That is my curse." The giant smiled sadly, but it was a kind smile. However, the gesture was lost on Loki.

"How is it that I'd go about leaving this place… Never to return?" He queried.

"I will give you one wish. You may, theoretically speaking, 'fly away upon a shooting star'. I will transport you to wherever it is that you desire."

Loki contemplated this information in silence, pacing back and forth under the golden light of the trees. Back and forth over the crunching leaves beneath his feet. The only thing he truly wished for was death. And somehow, he was certain that the giant would never grant him that relief.

"Would you like to return home?" the giant asked.

"I haven't one." Loki said sullenly. "What is left of Jotunheim sees me as a traitor. I deserve _that_ title. I do not, and never have, belonged to Asgard. I wish to never return to that place. Not as a subservient to the liars who stole my life. Perhaps I belong in Hel, but, as is evidenced by this conversation; I am not dead. I failed even in the most simplest of my missions. Take me to Midgard." These last words were spoken with such force and with such fierceness that the giant recoiled. He had evidently seen something awaken in Loki's eyes. Something that chilled him to the bone.

"As you wish." The giant said, humbly bowing down to the god.

"Come to me, child," he said lightly, Loki stepped forward. The giant bent down and instructed Loki once more. "close your eyes, child." Loki did so.

The giant placed his large hands upon Loki's forehead and whispered softly to the winds. Crackling blue light surrounded Loki and a thin, mischievous smile spread across his face.

"Loki, do not make the old mistakes. You have a good heart." The giant said, stepping back from Loki, who was now fully enveloped in crackling blue light.

"You are wrong, fool. I have no heart." He snarled. Then the light grew so bright that the giant had to shield his eyes as the Norse god vanished.

The giant looked, remorsefully into the air where Loki had moments ago been standing. He sighed deeply and the leaves fell from the trees as if by a strong wind.

**Gemma**

It had been a week since the incident in the training yard and Gemma hadn't seen or spoken to Fury once. Wherever she went whispers followed her. Everyone knew she had stolen Hawkeye's bow and quiver and used them to blow up their training yard. Everyone knew she had really crossed some borders this time. Everyone knew she was in deep.

Surprisingly, it was Hawkeye himself who comforted her. He was always at her side, deflecting the accusative glares that he soldiers gave her as the two of them passed through the halls. He even took his meals with her out on the roof top where they made small talk and joked around. He found that he'd needed a friend. She found that she needed someone to talk to. Life as a nineteen year old science freak was a lonely one.

He was a odd guy, she soon learned. He was really quiet and let her do most of the talking, but he was clever and funny. He was somber, in his own respect, but kind hearted. And Gemma never saw him without his bow and arrows or the airtight black and purple suit that he always wore. He had kind blue-grey eyes set in a square-ish face and his brow was almost always furrowed in deep thought.

Two days after the mishap, Gemma had grown comfortable around Hawkeye; once she'd stopped worrying that he was going to punish her from stealing from him. It was obvious that he wasn't mad at her. Not even _he_ knew why. It was very out of character for him to be so forgiving. But there was something about Gemma that he couldn't pin down. Not a bad thing. Whatever it was, he knew he enjoyed having her around.

He wanted to be her friend. Not her enemy; he'd already made to many of those.

Gemma was glad she had someone to rely on. She hadn't been in the best of moods since the incident, to put things mildly. She was constantly worrying about what was going to happen to her. She was almost certain that she was going to be displaced. She was nineteen, old enough to live on her own. The thing was, she'd never lived on her own before. The only life she'd know was that at S.H.E.I.L.D. and snippets of old memories from before. Life before her parents gave her up for the cheap relief of no longer having to fear their own infant daughter and of course, a mighty big check to keep things quiet.

If Gemma lost her home here she'd loose everything. That was something Hawkeye, or 'Clint' as she'd come to know him, knew well of. He'd lost everything at a very young age. He wasn't bitter over it, however, and that's what Gemma liked about him. He was always entertaining her with stories of the circus. Another thing Gemma liked about Clint Barton: He called her 'Gem' without questioning it. He also understood the importance of choosing one's own name.

So, one week after the incident found Gemma and Hawkeye lying on the roof of one of the soldier's bunkers at nightfall. They lay opposite each other so that the tops of their head were touching. Silently they pointed out stars and consolations, musing about life forms on other planets.

"Oh look!" Hawkeye was pointing to a flash across the sky. A shooting star. "Quick. Wishes!" he instructed.

The two of them closed their eyes and wished upon the shooting star.

Hawkeye's lips moved silently as he made his wish. His head was filled with thoughts of romance. A beautiful Russian woman in a black cat suit danced though his vision. A women whom he had once loved. He sighed with longing. Whatever had became of the lovely Natasha? He'd lost touch with her since Budapest...

Gemma wished for the one thing that mattered to her the most. _  
_the words that ran through her head were frantic, but on the outside she'd managed to take on a clam demeanor. _Please don't send me away. I'll do anything. I need to stay with S.H.E.I.L.D. I swear I'll do anything, I'll work for them if I have to. Just please don't send me away._


	5. Vigor

**Hey, so concerning my grammar mistakes: I read through this one and fixed it up. I'll go back through the ones I've already published in a moment. And I'll go through each one individually before I upload it. I'm sorry about that, this is really weird for me. I've never had problems with my grammar before. Thanks for pointing it out!**

Chapter 5

Vigor

**Loki **

Loki felt as though his body was dissipating. Each atom and molecule of his being was unbound, flying through space. He felt detached from his own being. His emotions floated around his head, just out of reach. He was grateful for that.

The journey was shorter this time, though Loki was unsure of the passing of time. One thing was for certain though: he felt driven, empowered by his new mindset: to find the Tesseract and use it. Exactly what for remained to be known. But the god felt a slight smug satisfaction just by _knowing_ that the possibilities were endless.

As he traveled by the giant's power, one distinct though stood out in his head: Make the mortals suffer, and Thor would suffer. as consequence.

**Gemma**

The following day found a very grumpy and sleepy Gemma bent over a steaming mug of black coffee. She sat on an overstuffed armchair in a secluded room with Nick Fury. He stood opposite her, also clutching a mug of coffee.

He'd sent for her just after the rise of the sun, and, after being forcefully awakened from a pleasant dream, Gemma had dragged herself into his company.

Fury cleared his throat with a grumbling cough.

"Gem," the girl peered up at him through her messy bed-hair. Her eyes were rimmed with red as an defect of her holding in tears. She felt sure that the only reason Fury had called her in was so that he could dismiss her. She was going to loose her home.

"As you know, ah, the Council and I have discussed your case very thoroughly over the past week."

Gemma nodded, clenching her hands around the mug so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"It has been decided that you can no longer remain a habitant on S.H.E.I.L.D. headquarters,"

Gemma's heart sank into the tips of her toes. Still, she held in the tears that were threatening to break.

"Which is why," Fury continued. "I've decided that you are no longer a 'habitant'. I am offering you a position, Gem." He concluded.

"Excuse me, Sir?" she gasped, the delight that shone in her eyes was not missed on the man. He chuckled, sounding pleased.

"That's right. I have talked to Mr. Barton, and he has agreed to train you as his assistant. Furthermore, you will be moved to the women's barracks and take your meals with the rest of the solders. Your training starts this evening."

"And what about the M.F.B.?" asked Gemma, tugging at the chaffing cuff round her neck.

"Seeing as how I am no longer your legal guardian, it would not be fitting for me to place you under any punishment. Therefore, all previous restrictions have been lifted." Fury grinned at her as he took a small key from an inner pocket of his trench coat and tossed it to her.

Gemma's smile was miles wide as she caught the key and lost no time in freeing herself from the uncomfortable device. The relief she felt was instantaneous. Her mind expanded into the universe. It felt as though she could breathe again. No longer locked inside a cramped cage, her powers sparked with life.

"I'll trust that you wont make any more bad decisions, Shepherd. If you make a mistake, S.H.E.I.D. will have no choice but to evict you."

"I promise! I'll follow all my orders, I wont use my power and I wont steal. I swear it." She promised solemnly.


	6. Benefits

**Hi, thanks for all the reviews and support! A few quick things before the chapter: **

**I've been getting some comments on the grammar, I'm getting to work on that! I have never had issues with my grammar before, this is so weird to me! **

**Also, the chapters will be getting longer now, and even if there are a few short ones every now and then, I'll take better care to keep them from ending unnaturally. Sorry about that!**

**As for the question regarding Gem's powers: for now all you know is that she can read minds, speak to people in their heads and use mind control to make people do things. There's going to be more, but for now, thats it!**

**Thanks again for the support!**

* * *

Chapter 6

Benefits

**Loki**

Time passed. Loki was hardly aware of it though. He was too focused on his intricate plans. He'd been forming the future in his own mind. Soon. Soon he would arrive on Midgard.

* * *

Loki was startled by an abrupt jolt. Someone or something had grabbed onto him.

The thing in question was floating in space above Loki, it's grip was on Loki's shirt collar.

"I am Loki Layfeyson! How dare you disturb me?" Loki roared, outraged. In reply, the creature tugged Loki once more, yanking him up and out of the giant's crackling blue light.

* * *

The journey with the creature was short, lasting only moments. Loki would have fried the being with his magic, had his arms not been pinned to his sides by a strength that was too much for him to fight off.

He was dragged clear out of the void and into another real entirely.

"Where have you taken me?" he snarled in contempt, attempting to break free.

He'd been unceremoniously dumped amongst the jagged rocks of a barren unknown realm.

The creature had let go of him but Loki was too busy taking in his surroundings to try to escape. It would have been frivolous anyways. Where would he go?

The ground was covered in a light powdering of snow. The sky was dark and harsh. In the distance, Loki caught sight of what looked like a large armored eel weaving its way through the air.

"We are the Chitauri." The creature finally said.

"We?" scoffed Loki, rising his eyebrows at the only creature he could see.

At those words, by the hundreds, similar creatures began to emerge from the shadows.

Loki watched them silently. He wouldn't have admitted it in a thousand years, but he was a little scared.

They were man-like in figure. Though taller. Their molting-grey skin was covered from head to toe in armor. Their mouths were like large holes in their head, filled with rows upon rows of jagged teeth. And they _smelled _horribly. Like rotting meat. Loki gagged as a breeze carried their sent into his nose.

"Ah. Yes. We." Loki stammered.

"Do not speak unless spoken to."

Loki nodded, he wasn't up for a fight so he kept his mouth closed.

"You travel to Midgard by light of something we desire. The Tesseract. We offer you a comprise. You bring us the Tesseract and we help you destroy Midgard. If you deny us, we will kill you and all you hold dear."

Somehow, whether it be the circumstance itself, or a sense of truth in the creature's words, Loki _knew _they could kill him if they felt like it.

He would not deny these guys what they asked for. Besides, that's what he wanted, was it not? To conquer Midgard. He would take all the help he could get.

Loki nodded to show his consent. He daren't say another word.

"Then we shall return you." The Chituari took hold of Loki once more. This time his fingers dug so deeply into Loki's chest that the latter could feel blood soaking the skin there. He grunted in pain but didn't cry out.

* * *

The creature, without another word, had returned Loki to the giant's light. It was as if nothing had changed. In fact, Loki would have thought it to be a dream were it not for the crescent shaped cuts in his chest where the being's fingernails had sliced him open.

**Gemma**

Work with Hawkeye was hard, but it paid off. After a few short weeks of training under his sharp eyes Gemma could feel the change in her body. Her muscles were sore but stronger than they had ever been. Her aim with the bow and arrow had greatly improved, as well as had her stamina.

Training with the rest of the soldiers was an entirely different story. A lithe young girl had no place in their ranks. At least, that what they said. Gemma wasted no time in proving them wrong, much to her own satisfaction, as well as Hawkeye's.

But the thing that effected her the most was discipline. She was beginning how to learn how to cope without constantly depending on her mind power. It was hard. Harder than she could have ever imagined. But at the end of the day, after completing a rigorous course with the soldiers, or long hours under the hot sun with Hawkeye, Gemma found that it was well worth it. The pride that went along with being able to think: _I did it and I didn't even have to cheat. _

"Gem!" Hawkeye called Gemma from the rooftop of the barracks. She looked up at him from the ground as she trudged in from a day of hard work out on the field. Today she'd gone on her first mission with the rest of the recruits as a search party for some man wanted by S.H.E.I.L.D. It was also the first time she'd ever legally left the base since she'd arrived with her parents all that time ago.

She acknowledged Hawkeye with a wave of her hand as she called up to him, "one sec!" before rushing indoors and scaling the ladders to the rooftop.

When she arrived the first thing she noticed were two plates of delicious smelling food. There was cold chicken, rice and beans, slices of fresh fruit and two sparkling flutes of bubbling champagne.

"What's this?" she asked, delighted as she sat down next to her friend. She let her legs hang over the edge of the building.

"They prepared a special meal for all the officers. Figured they wouldn't miss an extra serving." Hawkeye caught her eye and winked. She grinned back at him.

"Dig in!" he invited, handing her a plate and some champagne.

Gemma frowned. "Fury specifically ordered me to eat my meals in the Mess with the rest of the soldiers…"

"He also appointed me as your official personal trainer. You're my apprentice, I can overrule that order. It's a special occasion, anyhow." He joked.

"Oh really?" Gemma asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hawkeye smiled coyly. "It's a Tuesday."

They both laughed and Gemma added, "that's good a reason as any!" before raising her glass to him in a silent salute before sipping.

She licked her lips. "Man, this stuff isn't cheap!" She interjected.

"Tony Stark is visiting. This," he gestured to the glass he held in his hand, "is from his _privet _collection."

Gemma smiled darkly. "Well, they never said _you_ couldn't steal anymore." She joked.

"Oh, I wouldn't call it stealing. It's more of a, hmm, how should I put this? A settling of debts, if you will." He explained. But Gemma was hardly listening anymore; she was far too engrossed in her plate of delicious food. It was the best she'd had since officially joining S.H.E.I.L.D.

* * *

It was the first dinner the two of them had enjoyed together in a long time, and each of them appreciated that. It could be said that their days of hard training had brought the two of them even closer together. For the first time in a while Gemma realized she was feeling _dependent _on the guy, and she rather liked it. It felt good to have a friend, someone she could count on.

After finishing their meal, Gemma broke the placid silence.

"Clint?"

"Hm?" he grunted.

"Why is Stark here? He only comes whenever something goes wrong." Her brow was winkled with worry.

"We don't know exactly what is wrong yet. All I can say is that _something _is happing. Tony dropped by just to check things out. Being the genius that he is." Hawkeye explained, rolling his eyes.

"So it's something technical then.." Gemma implored. She knew that Stark was S.H.E.I..L.D.'s go-to man for any technical problems.

Hawkeye grinned, cuffing her playfully in the arm. "It's top secret, Gem."

Suddenly, the man froze. His muscles tensed and he put a finger to his ear. Gemma observed him quizzically for a moment before realizing that he must be receiving a 'telecom'. He had a small chip in his ear that the officials used to communicate with.

Gemma scoffed. _She_ could get by without a telecom just fine, what with her mind reading and all.

"I have to go." He said abrubtly. He got to his feet and took the dishes with him, clambering down the ladder without another word.

"Wait, Clint! What's going on?" Gemma called after him, peering over the edge of which he'd descended.

"Emergency situation! I've really got to go!" he called up to her before disappearing completely.

Gemma figured it had something to do with the top-secret mystery object they'd just been discussing. The entire corporation had been on edge for a while now. Something had to be going on, Tony Stark didn't fly all the way to New Mexico for nothing.

She felt the worry in her stomach like a writhing pit of poisonous snakes. Something was wrong.

* * *

**Hey so I was combating allergies with a sicking amount of benodryl (which makes me really sleepy) while writing the first park of this chapter, so if Loki's POV seems really strange to you, thats why. I'll go back over it later today if anyone wants me to. **

** Loki and Gem are finally going to meet next chapter! **

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Collide

Chapter 7

Collide

**Loki**

He feel it long before he ever saw it. The pulsating aurora of the Tesseract. Calling out to him, pulling him in.

Loki was snapped out of a reverie of nonchalant musings when he first caught sight of the icy blue cube. It was large. Larger than he remembered.

Still traveling through space and time, the scene before him provided a very interesting turn of events. It played out slowly, like pouring molasses, and Loki realized that the time on Midgard ran differently than out in the star spangled emptiness between the worlds.

He could see the Tesseract was being held in some sort of metal contraction. It was pulsating. Each pulse drew him in closer and closer. It also sent the mortal men and women around it into a frenzy. Loki scoffed at their foolishness, as they scrambled about like ants on the surface of the earth, ready to be squashed on the under-sole of his boot.

The thought made Loki smile devilishly. Soon. Soon he would arrive.

* * *

At long last the god felt the energy of the Tesseract give one last final tug before he fell through into Midgard. It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience, but that hardly mattered. Not when there were worlds to be conquer.

Loki stood, knees bent facing the ground. He was out of breathe but quickly regaining strength. A maniacal grin spread across his face as he observed his surroundings.

He was in some sort of underground lab. Before him sat the Tesseract, calling out to him. Several scarred mortals were spread out across the room, squinting at him with alarm.

Loki made up his mind. He launched into action.

The battles that ensued was short lived and exhilarating. The humans stood no chance; they were ill-prepared. With his staff and sorcery, not to mention incredibly strength and cunning, it was only minutes until Loki had defeated the mortals. He'd kept a few men alive, the brave and strong hearted. They'd be useful to him, but not like this. Loki needed them to follow his every command. He'd pressed the sharp edge of his staff into their _precious _mortal hearts, changing them. Making them his.

He killed the rest without remorse.

* * *

As he and his few enchanted followers made their escape, Tesseract in hand, Loki felt the pang in his chest that he had chosen to ignore lessen. A strange, bubbly feeling rose in his heart, a mixture between glee and pride. His grin widened.

"Sir, we have minutes before the place collapses. We've got to get out." The man to his left informed him in an emotionless voice. His enchanted ice-blue eyes started straight ahead, unobserving. Loki liked the man, that's why he'd picked him. 'you have heart' he'd mused.

The man was stout and broad shouldered. Dressed in tight black wear, he carried a quiver full of arrows on his back and a bow in his calloused hands.

Loki smiled wickedly down at the man and quickened his pace. They were headed towards a parking lot, where they planned to commandeer a car and 'get the hell outta here before we all die'.

**Gemma**

Gemma lay in her cot, staring at the ceiling. It was very late now, but she couldn't sleep. It had been hours since she'd spoken to Hawkeye and she couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone horribly wrong. She'd managed to refrain, using a great deal of self discipline, from reaching out to him with her mind. She knew that, as a solder, invading his privacy like that was a major infraction. She felt she ought to respect the man. He was, after all, her only friend.

Lost in her own thoughts, it wasn't until the sirens went off that Gemma snapped into reality. Never, in her enitry of living on the base had she heard those sirens. All around her the other women were in a flurry. Grabbing their weapons and jumping out of bed, rushing outdoors just as they had practiced every day in their drills.

Gemma couldn't move. She was stunned.

"UP!" someone screamed. She felt hands on her shoulders. Someone had pulled her out of bed. They thrust a gun into her hands and dashed out of the barracks. Gemma was alone.

_Screw this. _ She thought. She had to know what was going on. She contracted all her might on finding Hawkeye with her mind. Nothing. It was as though he didn't exist. Only a cold emptiness. Gemma felt a knot of dread in her stomach. Did this mean he was dead? She worried.

Next she tried Fury. The connection was immediate.

'_Fury! What's going on?' _She asked.

'_Gem! You need to get out of here. Run. Don't worry about anyone else, forget the drills. This whole place is going to collapse in. Get. Out." _

That's all it took. Gemma ran.

She raced through the familiar corridors, the paths and trails that she had explored as a kid.  
One thought ran thorough her mind. _Got to get out. Got to get out. Got. To. Get. Out. _

She was almost there, she could see the spot just up ahead that meant the base ended. She sucked in air, it burned her lungs like fire. Still, she pushed forward. Behind her, she could hear a terrible roar. The ground shifted under her feet and she stumbled. She was lithe though, and quick on her feet. Regaining her balance she reached safety, breathing hard.

Doubled over, Gemma fought to regain her breathe, which came out in a wheeze. Her eyes were watering. Never had she run so hard before.

Sensing movement just before her, she looked up. Just in time to feel the impact of a huge government SUV tear into her. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as she flew though the air, bouncing on the roof of the car.

As she sailed over the windshield, her eyes locked onto the driver. Hawkeye. But there was something wrong. His friendly blue eyes were a chill icy hue. They sucked the very warmth from the air around her.

Gemma landed with a crunch on the hard gravel. She felt as though every bone in her body had been broken, but relived as the numbness came. Her head was bleeding profusely but she hardly noticed. Her mind was away, with Hawkeye in the black SUV. She couldn't contact him, her mind reached for his but only met a chilling mental barrier.

She tried the man in the passenger seat, but he too was unreachable. Finally she tried the man in the back. Immediately she regretted it. Icy stabs of pain assailed her body and mind. She felt as if she were drowning in a frozen lake, trapped beneath the surface, struggling for air. A soulless laugh echoed in her ears, sending a chilling wave down her spine.

Gemma tried to pull back, but the man had grabbed onto her astral form and held her there. Laughing at her woes the man snarled, '_who are you, young mortal? Does it hurt? Dying alone? Like a reject, a failure. You ought to have looked both ways before crossing the street. '_

_But this, this is interesting. what fun! I haven't met one like you yet. A Mind Waif. A shame you're going to die. i would have liked to keep you around." _

Gemma could hear a heartless smirk in his voice. Her mouth was filling with blood, and her physical body was convulsing in the dirt. She knew her time was running out. She needed to get help or else she'd die.

'_Let. Me. Go.' _Thought this as with as much force as she could muster, and to her astonishment, it worked. The sinister grip on her mind was relinquished at once and Gemma could sense the confusion that her captor emitted.

Breathing deeply, Gemma closed her eyes, suppressing a shudder. She never wanted to meet that man again. Not in person but especially not mentally.

She was weaving in and out of consciousness when she heard Fury calling her name. She forced her eyes open, but her vision blurred. She could not manage to speak the words she needed to call him to her.

'_Over here. Help." _She whimpered into this mind. Moments later, she felt him shaking her.

"DON'T GO. STAY AWAKE. YOU CAN FIGHT IT!" he was screaming. She managed to groan in reply.

He scooped her up like she was a little girl again and carried her away. Dots blurred her vision as dark, stick blood gushed from what felt like every pore in her body.


	8. War

Chapter 8

War

**Loki **

"Take out those guards." Loki nodded with an air of laziness towards two men patrolling the perimeter of a high-class German opera house. His follower nodded before dashing off, scaling the wall with his bow drawn. Loki tilted his head with a nasty smile on his face. When he heard the dull thud of bodies hitting the ground, he moved towards the unguarded door.

* * *

Dressed in a back suit and green scarf (made to appear like mortal attire) Loki stalked leisurely down a grand marble staircase. Below him, a dainty crowd of mortal men and women sipped champagne and chattered about their meaningless, dull lives.

Loki detested them.

He came to the landing, and carried out the second step to his elaborate plan. With one swift movement, the man standing to his right crumpled under the force of Loki's staff. Someone screamed. The sound of terror elated Loki. How he'd longed for that sound. His smile widened.

Lifting up another man by his shirt front, Loki threw him onto the back of a frivolous marble horse statue. The mortals who'd crafted it had done shame in the name of art. The ugly brute would be defiled with the blood of Loki's victim.

His long thin fingers wrapped around a cruel looking metal device. Long spindly blades began to whir at Loki's command. He slowly pressed the device down onto the man's face, still pressed against the horse statue.

The blades whirred against the frail skin on the man's face, tearing it to shreds. The man's eyes bulged with terror and pain. Loki used his free hand to press the victim's eye lids closed, sealing them off from the world.

All around him pandemonium had broken. The guttural screams of absolute fear broke out among the crowd. It was joy to Loki's dark heart. He had not mercy for the filth that walked about on the surface of Midgard.

The crowd of pretty, done up mortals in their best suits and dresses had rushed outside. Loki smirked. Humans were so predicable. They'd run like cattle to the place where he'd hoped they'd go.

He walked out after them, his mortal clothes vanishing. In their place his Asgardian combat gear appeared. Leather and gold armor across his chest. A deep green cape flowed behind him and a golden helmet with antelope-like horns that curved outward from his scull. It was a very menacing look, it suited his mood well.

The humans ran away from him, screaming. They'd been reduced to animal instinct; trampling each other into the ground.

_Selfish filth. _Loki scoffed. The cared for nothing but their own survival.

Loki vanished momentarily, only to reappear before the crowd, halting their get-away.

"Kneel before me." He ordered. The humans ran the other way. Loki sighed. _When would they learn?_

He snapped his fingers and appeared before them once more.

"I said, KNEEL." He shouted.

This time a few people looked around uncertainly. The screams died out. Slowly, his inferiors took to their proper place. Cowering on the ground at his feet, like a bunch of sniveling animals waiting to be slaughtered.

All was going according to plan. Loki smiled to himself. He would prove to the entire universe that he wasn't worthless. He was a king! It was about time for entire worlds to worship him.

Just one slight setback. One man, an elderly guy, had gotten to his feet.

"I'll never kneel. There's always been guys like you." The man's eyes flared with rebellion. Loki couldn't help it: he admired the guy. Such bravery was nearly extinct in this world of press conferences and Starbucks coffee.

"There are no men like me." Loki hissed. "Learn from your elders, mortals. Let this be a lesson to you all." Loki raised his staff, energy formed at the tip, spitting sparks of deadly magic. He pointed it at the man's chest.

He had to hand it to the guy; he was impressive. Staring at the face of death, the man didn't even blink. Of course, he was stupid, but still,_ impressive_.

The next thing Loki knew, he was flying backward through the air. He landed with a smack against the concrete. _That hurt. _

He jumped to his feet, spinning round to face his advisory.

A buff man in a skintight star-spangled red white and blue suit was crouched before him in fighting stance. He held a round shield in front of him, ready to deflect Loki's power.

_It seems as though I'll be teaching man many lessons today… _Loki thought, launching himself into battle.

* * *

Loki was no longer feeling so snarky by the time the fight had come to an end. He felt the wear and tear on his body in many places, but he didn't let it show.

Truth be told, he could have escaped from the man he know knew to be Steve Rogers, (more commonly known as Captain America), as well as his friends, Natasha Romanoff (a Russian spy with a kick) and Tony Stark (a man who hid behind a suit of iron, to cowardly to face Loki in person). But something had caught Loki's interest.

It had to do with Captain America. He had traces of great power around him. Traces that could have only been left behind by the Tesseract. It certainly piked Loki's interest and he'd decided that the best way to investigate the mystery would to be taken in by them.

Now inside a small carrier jet, Loki sat with his arms bound. He could have easily broken away and brought down the entire plane with him but he sat staring around him with a mild disinterest.

His captors questioned him but he answered only what he saw fit. With sarcastic, snarky replies, that is.

These guys really didn't know what they were going up against.

"Who are you?" This came from Steve Rogers, still dressed in his patriotic getup.

Loki smirked. "I am Loki, god of mischief." He drawled.

"Asgardian. I've heard of these guys. He's not technically a god." Tony added, much to Loki's distaste. He merely shrugged in reply.

"Loki, we are with S.H.E.I.L.D. you have taken something important to us. Where is the Tesseract?" Tony demanded.

Loki liked his feisty attitude but he didn't reply. He just broke into a wide smile that showed all his teeth. There was a manic gleam in his eye that unsettled Steve greatly. He suppressed a shudder.

All at once, however, Loki's good mood dissipated. His heart was filled with led, all due to one sound. The roar of thunder. His smile vanished, and he looked up with worry.

"What, you're scared of thunder?" someone asked, laughing.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows…" Loki answered, feeling incredibly on edge. He couldn't bear to see Thor again. Not so soon. Not ever. Still, a faint spark of regret flared somewhere deep inside him.

Before he had the chance to properly stamp it out, the plane shook with a resounding crash. Something had landed on the roof.

The jet tipped and everyone inside held tight to whatever they could get their hands on.

Next thing they knew, the loading dock was wrenched open and, in a flash _s__omething _or someone,had grabbed hold of their captive and rushed back out of plane, falling through open air.

* * *

"Where is the Tesseract?" those were the first words out of Thor's mouth.

"I missed you too." Loki said, laughing darkly.

"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" growled Thor, grabbing Loki round the shoulders, ruffly.

"Oh, you should thank me. With the Bifrost gone how much dark energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here? your precious earth."

"I thought you dead." Thor murmured, letting Loki's shoulder's go.

"Did you mourn?" Loki spat. He knew that would hurt Thor.

"We all did. Our father-"

"YOUR father. He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?"

"We were raised together, we played together, we fought together. Do you not remember?"

"I remember living in your shadow." Loki snarled.

Thor recoiled, the hurt was clear in his eyes. Loki laughed.

"Brother! Listen to me," Thor began what Loki was sure to be a long, dreadful lecture. But, the 'god' of thunder was cut off by a streak of red light. Tony Stark had tackled him.

"I'm listening…" Loki said to the empty air.

He sighed and sat down. He could take this chance to escape, but he still felt as though he had to find out all he could about this S.H.E.I.L.D. and the traces of Tesseract power on Steve Rodgers. It couldn't hurt. As long as he didn't have to back to Asgard. For surly, he would rather die.

_How is it that Thor managed to reach Midgard? How did he know I was here? Does that mean that Odin knows of my survival as well? Is it true, what Thor said? Did they actually mourn my death? _

_No, of course not. It must have been a relief to them all to see me die. Thor lies. _

And yet, Loki could not explain the lone tear that leaked from his eye and ran down his cheek. With a growl he wiped it away.

* * *

**I'm sorry if Loki seems a little OOC in this chapter, I was very distracted while writing this. Don't worry, he'll be back to normal next chapter!**

**It was running really long so I decided not to include Gemma's POV in this update because theres a lot of stuff going on with her as well and I didn't want to make it any longer. So next chapter, you'll be seeing plenty of Gemma. **

**And finally, Loki and Gemma will meet, good and proper. Be excited!**

**Thank you all and don't forget to review! (I don't want to force you to, but it's much appreciated!) **


	9. Subconscious

**Thanks again for all the support, you guys! Every review and subscription/favorite means so much to me!**

**This chapter is all from Gemma's side of things. It's also kind of complicated, and it will make more sense later, so if you don't understand everything don't worry: all shall be revealed soon!**

**Otherwise, if you have any burning questions, feel free to leave it in the reviews section. Depending on wether or not the answer to your question is going to be explained in a later chapter, I may or may not answer it. (I'll still send you a message to let you know) **

**Also, this song, Vaporize, by the Broken Bells fits very well with the story. It will make more sense as the story progresses, of course. But if you want, you can listen to it and keep it in mind as you read. **

** watch?v=5tstDvkpDlw**

**So... **

Chapter 9

Subconscious

**Gemma**

Gemma rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. She blinked slowly, staring around her room in a dazed manner. Only it wasn't her room. She had no clue where she was.

She noticed an IV stuck into the crook of her elbow. She grunted and pulled it out. She looked down at her own body. She was covered in bruises, ranging from black to purple and yellow. Her right arm was in a sling and her rib cage was wrapped tight with gauze. She lightly lay a finger to her rips and gasped in pain. Definitely broken.

There was yet another bandage around her head and, slipping a finger under it, Gemma felt a jagged row of stiches along her hair line. _Shit. _She thought.

Slowly the events of her last memories came to her. The sirens, running away from the base. Then the car, hitting her. Clint's chilling eyes. The man in the backseat.

She shuddered at the memory. He had called her something. A Mind Waif? That sounded right. He'd been able to grab onto her mind. He'd hurt her. She could still hear his bone-chilling laugh echo through her pounding head.

What had happened next? Gemma remembered Fury calling out to her. She'd led him to her body with her mind, and he'd picked her up. She remembered him telling her to stay awake, to fight the pain. Then her memory went blank.

"Hello?" She called, uncertainly. Her voice cracked from disuse.

"Ah, Gemma Shepherd, you're awake. Splendid!" the voice came from a man wearing glasses dressed in a white lab coat. He had just poked his head round a door. He pressed his finger to his ear, his 'telecom' and spoke, "Fury, the girl is awake, come at once."

He walked into the room, which Gemma now realized was an infirmary. However it wasn't the one at S.H.E.I.L.D. Of course it wasn't. That one had been destroyed.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"Aboard the Helicarrier." The man replied. He held out a hand. "My name is Bruce Banner. I've been taking care of you for the last few days. The injuries you attained were substantial, but, ah, I'm quiet the steady hand when it comes to medical work."

Gemma shook his hand. "It's Gem, by the way."

Bruce looked puzzled.

"Just a second ago, you called me Gemma. It's Gem." She explained, flushing. "But, anyhow, what is going on? What's a Helicarrier?"

"The Director will explain all of that to you when he gets here. I'd expect they wouldn't want me to, ah…" Bruce trailed off, scratching his head.

Gemma couldn't help but notice that he man had strange way of talking. It was as though he was creeping around in the dark, like a kid trying to sneak out of the house, knowing that there was that one squeaky floorboard, and hoping he wouldn't step on it.

"The Director?" Gemma asked.

"Nick Fury. I'm sorry, I should have know. You wouldn't have known him as the Director. It's only those of us who are employed by him... Oh, ah, here he comes now." Bruce smiled, but it looked forced. Gemma thought she could see a lot of pain in his eyes.

Bruce Banner was right. Fury was just entering the room. His eye fell on Gemma at once, and lit up.

"You're okay!" he said gruffly. "That is good news, very, very good news." He walked to her bedside and nodded at Bruce. Bruce flushed and backed out of the room, securing the door behind him as he went.

"Weird guy, huh?" Gemma mused out loud.

"I wouldn't let him hear you say that, Gem." Fury said sternly. "Banner is a good man. He's an utter genius, he is. But he is inflicted in ways you could never understand."

Gemma was perplexed but she dropped the subject. "What's going on?" She asked.

"It's kind of a long story," Fury began.

"I don't care. Tell me." Gemma insisted.

Fury cleared his throat and pulled over a chair, sitting beside her. "S.H.E.I.L.D. has been harboring this…thing, pulled from the ocean by our very own Steve Rodgers. We call it a 'Tesseract'. It is full of enough energy to power the entire planet, for lifetimes! We've been studying it for years, but we are only just beginning to understand how it works.

For a while now, it's been emitting these strange fluxes. We did not understand until it was too late. The Tesseract was acting as a portal. It pulled someone from another planet through space and time into our own lab.

This man is called 'Loki'. He thinks himself a god. We have dealt with his brother before. They come from a planet called Asgard. You may have heard of them. These two come from ancient Norse legend. And, Loki at least, is very dangerous.

He came through the portal, killed many good soldiers, destroyed the base and managed to, erm, 'possess' two of our best men. I'm sorry to say that your friend Barton serves Loki now. We _can _reverse that, but it's not the first order at han-"

Gemma interrupted him. "How can you say that? We _need _Clint! How can you just sit back and let him be used like that?" Gemma was furious.

"Gem, cool it. We are working on it. All I'm saying is that we need to focus our efforts of capturing Loki. Now, will you allow me to continue the story?" He was angry at being interrupted but Gemma sobered up, scowling at the sheets.

"Fine." She huffed.

"After you were hurt, we had no choice but to bring you along. We could have left you in a common ER but you were so severely injured we feared you would die. They are not equipped with the technology that we have aboard the Helicarrier. Which, is why you are here."

"And what about the rest of you? Why are you here?" Gemma prompted.

Fury sighed. "Loki is a hard man to put down, Gem. We've gathered our resources and plan to utilize them to our best ability in order to capture Loki. We've got the best men and women on the job. Tony Stark, Steve Rodgers, Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner.

In fact three of them are our out there now, they've tracked Loki down and are attempting to bring him in. Which is why I must leave you now, Gem. I have a lot on my hands and you need to rest."

Gemma bit back any remark on her tongue regarding Hawkeye. She personally thought Fury's special team could do with a bit of Clint Barton's skills.

"Here, this must have fallen out." Fury said, sticking the IV back into Gemma's arm. It hurt, but only for a second. Fury hadn't even left the room before the medicine in the drip forced her into sleep.

* * *

It was a dream. That was the first thing Gemma knew for sure when she found herself standing, seemingly alone. She was out doors, standing at the edge of allege-ridden green lake. It was nearly luminescent. Lush grass spread out on all sides. A forest of thick pine trees started up on the far side of the lake. Behind her, Gemma could see a high stone wall. It was grey and old; crumbling but still impressive all the same.

"I see you have fond my personal place, little Waif." The voice came from directly to her left. Gemma looked over and found that she was not alone.

It was the man who'd been in the back of the SUV. The man from Asgard, Loki.

"It appears I have. I didn't know it was your place though." She replied coolly. Gemma also found she had a lot more courage in her dream.

The man smiled ruefully at her.

"You're a smart girl, Gemma." He whispered.

"It's Gem." She corrected.

"Of course it is. Sit down, Gem." He murmured, talking a seat at the edge of the lake, so that the green water lapped at the toes of his thick soled leather boots. He patted a spot beside him.

Gemma hesitated a moment before joining him in the grass.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"You must know who I am, Mortal, for, if not you'd not have found me here." He raised his eyebrows at her, and Gemma couldn't help but be taken aback by the beauty of his bright green eyes. They looked straight into her, but it wasn't unpleasant.

"I do know your name... Loki. But what did you mean about me finding you?" she asked, wrenching her gaze from his own.

Loki sighed, looking exasperated. He pulled a fistful of grass up from the earth and began to tear it into small shreds.

"You are a Mind Waif, and I take it from the confusion in your eyes that you knew it not. You mortals are strange, you can look the truth straight in the eye and deny it a thousand times over, just because it doesn't fit in with the times.

You must have reached out for me, in your sleep perhaps… are you sleeping, Gem?" he asked.

"I think so." She replied.

"That must be it then!: The Norse god looked proud. He had a smile playing at he corners of his mouth, and Gemma became aware of the fact that, despite all his problems, this guy was actually pretty attractive.

His black inkblot hair was slicked away from his face, his skin was pale and smooth. There were dark circles under his eyes that made him seem weary and tired, but not all together evil. It was mostly his eyes though. They could shine through the dark, Gemma was sure of it.

"You must have reached out to me in your sleep. You're strong, Mortal. You made it far past whatever it was your dreaming mind was searching for. You wound up in my subconscious…" Loki trailed off.

"So this isn't just a dream?" Gemma asked.

"Correct. Your astral form left your body to seek myself. You wound up in my subconscious. The most privet part of a persons' soul."

"I don't understand. If this is not a dream then why haven't you killed me? You're almost… nice." She said, quietly.

"Gem, I think you'll find that people are made up of many layers. The Loki you have met may be entirely different from the Loki buried deep inside." He replied. He looked sad, Gemma noticed.

One of his hands lazily caught a strand of her dark hair that was blowing in a slight breeze. He appeared to be just as surprised as Gemma was, staring down at the hair he held between his long fingers.

"I sense that all is not well. You are hurt, are you not, Gem?" He asked, his voice was low and kind. His green eyes bore into hers.

"It would be a shame to allow so mighty a creature, even if she hails from Midgard, go to waste."

His hand let her hair go. He slowly moved it towards her face.

Gemma cringed.

"I do not intend to cause you any pain. Only to ease it." He said soothingly.

Gemma gulped down some air and closed her eyes. She felt Loki's cool hand press down on her forehead. It tingled a bit, and she could hear him murmuring some words to himself. He drew back.

"It doesn't feel any different." Gemma said.

"This is your Waif form. The injuries I've cured are only on your physical body."

All at once, everything changed. The sky grew dark with thick, gray clouds; heavy with snow. and the grass withered into death as frost formed over it.

"What's going on?" Gemma asked, her voice high. She jumped to her feet. Loki leapt to her side. His eyes were wide with fear and his hands were shaking.

"You should leave." He said softly.

Gemma was about to ask why when, suddenly, a change came over him. His eyes flashed dangerously and he loomed over her like a giant, drowning her in his shadow.

"Who are you?" he screamed, lunging for her. He grabbed her wrist in his hands, crushing her. Gemma couldn't help it, she screamed out in pain. His hands were icy cold and stronger than a vice.

"I'll crush you. I can see into your soul. I know everything!" He was panting in a rage, his grip only grew tighter and tighter the more she fought and kicked.

'_Let. Me. Go!' _she demanded.

The result was the same. Loki released her at once. She felt herself spinning harshly until she felt sick. Then, she was back on her bed in the Helicarrier, lying stunned.

* * *

_People are made up of many layers…_

The voice of the 'Subconscious Loki' rang through her mind.

She found herself feeling utterly confused. More so than ever before.

Outside her door, the passengers of the Helicarrier were in a frenzy. Gemma propped herself up and noticed, right away, that all her injuries were cured. That would not go unnoticed. She'd have to tell Fury everything.

Her wrist was throbbing. She glanced at it and saw deep purple bruises were already blossoming along the bone. That wouldn't go unnoticed either.

She got to her feet and pulled the hospital shift tight around her body. She felt a little self conscious but it didn't matter. Something exciting was happening.

Gemma followed a stream of people hurrying towards the bridge of the aircraft. Peering over heads, she could just make out the scene before her.

A group of soldiers escorted a man down the hall. It was him. It was Loki. He held his head down, but Gemma could see the cruel smile on his face. It resembled nothing of the gentle and kind man from Gemma's dream. Or at least, the man _before _he'd tried to break her wrist.

_This_ Loki was this definition of evil.


	10. Entrapment

**this one is short but it's important! I'll probably update tonight :) THANKS for all the lovely reviews and alerts and such. I never expected anyone would even read this! It means so much to me. **

**Okay, okay: **

Chapter 10

Entrapment

**Loki **

Loki sat in his glass prison with his head on his knees. His nimble fingers ran through his hair, catching in knots and combing them out. His mind was elsewhere. He was thinking of the young mortal girl, Gemma.

Loki had thought of it after he'd caught her, exploring his very own subconscious. She'd been stealthy, it'd taken him a while before he'd even felt her presence in his head, and by the time he'd become aware of it, it'd been too late. He'd learn to be more careful, he couldn't afford to let it happen again.

She was powerful. So much so that he knew he'd have to stamp her out, before it was too late. Of course, the was another option…

His second option would be to bring her to his side. It would be hard, yes, Loki knew that. But it would be worth it. He knew the extent of her powers, he could use that. Also, it couldn't hurt to have an inside source to the inner on-goings of S.H.E.I.L.D.

He pondered on the subject for a while. If he was going to bring the girl over to his side, he was going to need a fail-proof plan. And he'd half to make sure she never got inside his head again. That could prove fatal.

_I could draw her in if she thought I wanted to help her… If I manage to convince the mortal that I am her friend, it wouldn't be hard to go from there. But how?_

Loki was interrupted by a presence. He looked up. Nick Fury stood in front of the glass, staring at him expectantly.

Loki got to his feet. _I'll teach the common cur the consequence of metaling in my affairs. _He thought, snidely.

* * *

"Where did you put the Tesseract, Loki." Fury demanded. They had been exchanging harsh words for the better part of an hour.

"As I said: I have it not. My _friends _are guarding it." Loki replied. He was leaning casually with his arms folded across his chest. At most, he found the conversation mildly amusing, but it was drying out. Fast. He knew he'd half to act fast before Fury gave up on him and left.

"Answer me this, cyclops," Loki began, unfolding his lanky form from where he leant. "Steve Rogers. He is _covered _in transfusions from the Tesseract. How is that?"

Fury raised an eyebrow at the god.

"Rogers has spent a great deal of time with the tesseract. He was the one who dropped it in the ocean almost 70 years ago."

Loki frowned. The story certainly made sense: for only one who had been around the Tesseract for an extended period of time could absorb that energy. But Captain America certainly didn't appear to be as old as Fury claimed.

"How is it poss-" he started to say something but Fury cut him off.

"He was frozen." Was the curt answer.

Loki nodded. Of course.

_A man out of time..._

"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass," Fury said, walking over to a control panel next to the cage. He raised a hand and gripped a lever. The floor of Loki's cell began to open up underneath his feet. "Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" He resealed the floor.

The threat was heavy in Fury's voice, but it didn't faze Loki one bit. If he wanted out, he would get out.

Fury pointed a meaty finger at Loki's chest. "Ant." he gestured to the lever. "boot."

Loki smiled in a self-assured mannar. "It's an impressive cage." He admitted. His smile grew wider when he spied the video camera watching the interrogation. He gazed directly into it. "Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury growled.

Loki's smile widened. "Oh, I've heard." He keep eye contact with the lens of the camera. "The mindless beast makes to play the man."

Loki knew his words would have the effect he wanted; he hoped to cause tension among the heros. And, if he was lucky, he hoped to make Bruce Banner mad. Because he knew exactly what would happen if Bruce Banner got mad.

He decided to play up to Banner's weakness even further. "How desperate are you? You call on these lost creatures to defend you." He moved his gaze from the camera to Fury's face, sneering.

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." Fury's spoke slowly, putting force behind those words.

Loki forced his face into an emotionless mask; he could not show Fury exactly how hard those words hit him.

He tried another angle: snide and sarcastic. "Ooh. It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is."

This time, Fury seemed to decide he'd had enough. He rose an eyebrow at Loki.

"Yeah, well, you let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or something."

**Gemma**

"Dr. Banner! Excuse me, sir?" Gemma called out to the man who was hurrying down the hall, looking nervous. But when didn't he? Look nervous, that is.

"Yes, Gemma?" Bruce asked, turning to face her.

"Gem. Where is Fury?" she asked breathlessly. "I need to talk to him. Now."

"I'm sorry, the Director is busy with our, ah, prisoner. Maybe you could try to contact him in your head." The man resumed his speed, leaving her behind.

"Wait! I already tried. He's shut me out." She called after him.

That caught his interest.

"Shut you out?" Bruce asked, watching her closely.

"Yeah. He's learned this trick. He conjures up the mental image of a wall. A big wall. When I try to get into his mind, I just hit the wall." Gemma explained, scowling.

"Interesting." Bruce muttered. Then he turned swiftly on his heel and began to walk away.

"Doctor Banner!" Gemma yelled, crossing her arms in defiance over her chest. "Where the hell is he?"

This time, Bruce turned all the way around and stalked up to her. He stood, only a couple feet away. His eyes flashed dangerously.

"Down this hall, take a right, go through the double doors and take a left. It's down the stairs from the catwalk you'll find there. You can't miss it. Big glass cage; built to hold a_ real_ monster!"

Gemma drew back, holding her breath. The man was trembling, and, truth be told she was scared of him.

"I'm sorry, sir, are you okay?" she asked, meekly.

"Am I okay! What kind of question is that? Haven't they told you?" He yelled. Spittle flung onto her face but she had the decency not to wipe it away at once.

"Told me what, sir?"

Bruce huffed. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Gemma. Forget this whole thing. Good luck finding The Director." Bruce walked away. Gemma didn't correct him on her name, she just watched him go.

_I'd like to see whats going on in his head. _She thought. But she didn't have the time, She had to find Fury and tell him about her dream. (For lack of a better word. She still didn't know exactly _what _to call it).

Gemma watched Bruce's retreating back a moment longer before clearing her head. She dashed off to find Fury, thinking about all the things she was going to say to him.

* * *

**sorry guys I'm so bad a ending these chapters! gah! update tomorrow (or possibly tonight if i finish editing chapter 11), I'm sorry this one is so short, but the next one is one of the longer ones. It's also my favorite thus far, so I think it makes up for this short one. **


	11. Unsettled

**Before anyone freaks out- This chapter is only from Gemma's side. And thanks for all the alerts and favorites and reviews! Also, thanks to Elaina-Hawk for pointing out it's Rogers. I don't know why I did that, I had his name right in the other chapters. Oops! Sorry about that!**

Chapter 11

Unsettled

**Gemma**

Gemma found Fury exactly where Bruce had said she would. He was standing in front of a control panel, engaged in a conversation.

As Gemma came into the open room, her eyes flickered uneasily towards the glass prism. Inside was the man himself; Loki.

He was watching Fury with observant eyes. Gemma was reminded of a red tailed hawk, (a bird common around New Mexico) circling it's pray before swooping in for the kill. The thought made her catch her breath.

Loki and Fury both turned to face her at the sound. When Loki's eyes met her own, Gemma felt as though cold fingers and ran down her spine. She fought to keep her face impassive; she didn't want the Norse god to know how uncomfortable he had made her feel.

"Shepherd! What are you doing back here?" Fury growled. Gemma hurried to his side, trying to ignore the icy feeling of Loki's eye's following her every move.

"I _need _to talk to you. You blocked me from your mind, what was I supposed to do?" She spoke accusatively. She was mad at Fury for using her last name, but didn't see the point in calling him out on it. Not in front of Loki.

"Gem, it's too dangerous for you to be here. Go wait for me in the console room. I'll be right out." Fury's voice was low. It was obvious that he didn't want Loki to catch on to what he was saying. He couldn't have the god know how dangerous he thought he was.

"I'm not scared of him." Gemma lied. She looked Loki straight in the eyes, as if to prove her point.

'_Are you sure about that, little Waif?' _The voice that spoke into her head belonged to none other than Loki himself.

Gemma was unable to contain the squeak of surprise that escaped her lips.

She'd never experienced that before. She'd always been the one evading the privacy of others, not the other way around.

"You okay, Gem?" Fury asked, his voice was full of concern.

"Yeah, of course I am. I'm fine." She said, breathlessly as she broke eye contact with Loki and faced the Director.

"I don't want to ask you again. Gem, you need to get out. Now." Fury wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.

Gemma cast her eyes down, defeated. "I'll wait for you out there, then?" She asked. Fury nodded.

'_Is that all it takes to break the fearless Gemma Shepherd? A mere order from a foolish man… I expected more of you. For being one so powerful, you certainly are lacking in a backbone.'_

Loki's voice echoed round in her scull. Gemma stopped walking halfway to the door. She turned and stared at Loki.

"I have plenty of backbone!" she snarled.

"Excuse me?" Fury asked, frowning.

Gemma flushed, realizing her mistake. She'd spoken out loud.

To make matters worse, Loki's face split into a manic grin. Each of his wolf-y teeth bared in a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Sorry. It's nothing. I was just thinking out loud." Gemma muttered, glowering at the imprisoned god.

Fury's frown deepened and Gemma knew he didn't believe her.

'_That's more like it, little Waif. If you can lie to the man once, you can do it again. Don't tell him about what happened last time you fell asleep. Come talk to me. If I fail to change your mind then I wont stop you.'_

Gemma swallowed her fear and confusion. She could physically feel it clogging up her throat like a lump of led. She turned and walked out the door, away from Fury's observant eyes.

Once out of his line of vision she slumped against the wall, screwing her eyes shut.

'_Why wouldn't I tell him? What's there to hide? I am part of S.H.E.I.L.D. and as far as I'm concerned, that makes you the enemy.' _She thought in reply to Loki.

'_I have my reasons. You'd be making a mistake by telling your Director. Let me talk to you first. In person. Like I said: if I fail to convince you otherwise, I shaln't stop you from telling the man whatever you please.'_

'_Why can't we talk about it now?' _Gemma asked.

'_I have more important things on my mind than speaking with you, at the moment. Visit me. Tonight. I'll presume you'll have no issues sneaking in?' _was Loki's reply.

'_I'll be fine sneaking in. And I'll wait to speak to Fury until after tonight.' _Gemma promised after some hesitation.

She knew she could be walking right into one of his traps, but in the end her curiosity won out. She _had _to know what it was Loki wanted to tell her. And she was hoping she could figure out how to save Hawkeye. Besides, what harm could it be? He couldn't hurt her as long as he was locked up in his glass chamber.

'_I look forward to it.' _Loki's voice hissed inside her head. Gemma could almost see his bright green eyes sparkle with madness as he said those words.

* * *

"What is it, Gem? What was so important that you had to act so rashly and disturb Loki? He's an evil man, Gem. I don't want you near him."

Fury was lecturing Gemma. She'd sat waiting for him in the console room for only a short time before he'd burst in.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Gemma apologized, staring at her shoes. "It's just that I was scared. I think there's a rat in the infirmary." She lied.

"You interrupted me for a _rat?"_ Fury arched his eyebrows. Gemma could tell he was suspicious.

"I _really _hate rats." She explained.

Fury watched her face closely and Gemma could feel it flush red. She was worried he'd notice that all the small cuts and bruises had mysteriously disappeared. The major ones wouldn't be a problem; the gauze was still wrapped around her healed head wound and her hospital shift covered the 'broken' ribs. She'd kept her arm in the splint to further the illusion.

"I'll see about getting you moved into your proper room for tonight. I'll have someone check out the rat problem. But for now, it would really be best if you dropped by the infirmary once more. I'd like it if Bruce checked in on your injuries."

Gemma swallowed the lump in her throat. She knew she'd have to use her mind control to convince Banner that nothing was odd. It shouldn't be hard. It was just that ever since she'd become a soldier, her morals had adjusted themselves. Being around Hawkeye had changed her in ways she couldn't explain. All she knew was that she was going to have a hard time using her powers to manipulate people.

* * *

"I'm sorry if I alarmed you earlier, Gemma. I haven't been feeling too keen, to tell the truth." Bruce apologized.

The pair of them were back in the infirmary where'd Gemma had first awakened.

She bit her lip to keep herself from correcting him on her name. She felt bad enough as it was, concerning what she was about to do.

"It's totally fine. We all have those days." Gemma said, politely. She flashed him a smile.

Bruce looked taken aback. To Gemma, it was obvious that the guy didn't get enough affection in life. He walked around people like he was stepping on glass. She actually found it quite endearing.

"Ah, um, yeah. Right. Thanks, Gem." He replied, looking sheepish. Gemma grinned. _He said my name right!_ She gloated to herself.

"Right. So! Let's see how you're doing. I must say, I was quite surprised when I'd seen you were already up and exploring. I'd have thought it would take a lot longer before you'd be able to get out of bed." Bruce pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"If you would sit right there…" he trailed off, gesturing vaguely to the Rise Chair that Gemma stood by.

She consented, laying back. Bruce picked up a clipboard and studied it for a moment before coming to stand over her. He moved to unravel the gauze around Gemma's head when she thought: _shit, now!_

Bracing herself, Gemma entered his mind. She'd been expecting a mess of nervous twitches and stutters. She had _not _expect the writhing pit of anger.

* * *

It _scared _her. Not in the same way Loki scared her. In a more primal sense.

The inside of Bruce Banner's mind was an absolute disaster. Anger. Bitterness. Terror. Loose memories floated around Gemma's head. Cautiously, she dove into one; unable to help her self. She'd never known she could even see other people's memories. She hadn't known a lot about herself. Not until Loki had come around.

She regretted it at once. It was too personal. Gemma felt as though she was watching Bruce though a secret window. Spying on his privet life.

* * *

In the memory, Bruce was alone in what looked like a science lab. He was crying. The kind of sobbing that hurt to watch. His entire face was drenched with tears. He was gasping for breathe, leaning against a lab table completely lost to the world.

But the worst part? He was holding a gun to his head. Pointed into his mouth, aimed upwards towards his brain.

His hands shook uncontrollably, grappling for the trigger.

Gemma knew he wouldn't do it. He'd be dead now if he had. Still, she held her breath in anticipation.

The gunshot made her jump. Eyes open wide, she couldn't tear herself away from the scene. Something was happening. Bruce had not died. Instead, his body was shuddering. His muscles rippled and expanded. He'd let out a sharp cry and then his very clothes began to tear off of his rapidly growing body.

Gemma forced herself to close her eyes. She couldn't bare it any longer. She didn't want to see what came next. She mustered up her will power and forced herself out of the memory.

* * *

Gemma found herself back inside the mess of anger that existed inside Bruce Banner's head. She was even more confused than she'd been before. Bruce had tried to commit suicide. W_hy? _

She took a moment to try and clear her own, but something else had caught her attention.

Being inside of someone's mind is like standing in a huge storage closet. You're surrounded by memories, recollections, feelings and thoughts, all jumbled together. It's surprisingly a very physical experience. At least it was for Gemma.

So when she saw something _huge _begin to tear it's way through the tangle of rage, Gemma balked. She'd never seen an actual living being inside someone before.(other than in Loki's subconscious, of course.) But there was one now: a giant green _monster _working its way towards her.

The ground where she stood shook with each pounding footfall of the beast. It's roars echoed around inside Gemma's skull, making her ears ring. Gemma was terrified of the monster but she couldn't feeling bad for it at the same time. Nonetheless, it was almost upon her now and she knew time was running out before it hurt her.

_I need to get out of here. _Gemma thought franticly.

'_Bruce,' _She began. '_You've just checked over all of my wounds. I am improving fine. You are pleased with my recovery. You think I am well enough to stop coming to see you. Nothing is wrong. Everything is perfectly normal.' _

Gemma planted the thought into his mind. Then, without wasting a moment longer, she wrenched herself free of the all-encompassing fury that was Bruce Banner.

* * *

Breathing hard, Gemma found herself lying back in the Raise Chair. Bruce stood over her looking perplexed but pleased, if not somewhat hazy.

"Everything appears to be going quite all-right, Gem. I think you should be looking forward to a very fast recovery." He said. "You're free to go," he added, helping her to her feet.

Gemma shivered when his hands touched hers. She looked at the seemingly quite, nervous man but could only see the shadow of the monster inside him and the shaking fingers wrapped round the revolver.

"Thanks." She mumbled, hurrying out the door without looking back.

* * *

**Hey, thanks for reading! This chapter felt like it was getting too long and I think I found a good stopping place. Tomorrow you'll see what happens when Gemma talks to Loki! Please review!**


	12. Promise

Chapter 12

Promise

**Loki **

It was dark in Loki's cell. Around the Helicarrier people were dropping off into sleep. Loki could sense two guards nearby. One was staring him down from the catwalk. The other was messing around with his gun.

Loki was bored; his cell was unfurnished, he hadn't eaten anything all day and it had been a while since he'd spoken to Fury. All there was left to do was think. And Loki was quite good at that.

Loki's purposes were twofold that night: first, he must earn the girl's trust. Convince her to help him. He'd realized she would be his most useful tool when it came to the Chituari. She would be able to control them.

With Gemma's power, the Chituari would be forced to help Loki subjugate Midgard without the promised reward of the Tesseract. Loki didn't want their filthy race to defile an object of such power. With it, he knew, they would be able to rule galaxies. If the Chituari got their hands on the Tesseract, no one would be free.

His second goal was to make sure Gemma didn't tell Fury or anyone else about her adventure in Loki's subconscious. He didn't know what she'd learnt there, but he knew that whatever she'd seen could be used against him by S.H.E.I.L.D.

* * *

Pacing back and forth, he tried to keep his mind off of the impending boredom. He was growing impatient; where was the girl? Had she lost her nerve? Loki doubted it. He knew she would come, just as he knew the sun would rise in the morning.

_What exactly shall I say to the Waif when she arrives? _Loki pondered. _I'll need a convincing lie if I am going to convince her to join my side. _He huffed and threw himself onto the ground to lie with his arms behind his head. He stared at the ceiling.

_They don't call me 'Silvertongue' for nothing. I am the god of _lies! _It wont be hard. _He re-assured himself.

Eventually he reached his plan. He'd not so much lie to the girl as 'embellish' the truth. He'd tell her about the Chituari. Make it out as _them _coming to earth, planning on subjugating the mortals and stealing the Tesseract. He would convince her that he needed the Tesseract to destroy the Chituari; it was the only thing powerful enough to stop them.

He'd half to be careful, however. If the Waif looked into his head she would know at once that he was lying. But if Nick Fury could block her from his mind, then Loki shouldn't have any troubles doing the same.

For a while longer, the god practiced picturing an icy wall surrounding his mind. He knew that a mental image of a wall was the only way to block Gemma out of his privet thoughts. Of course, it might also trigger her suspicion…

_I shall leave a few carefully structured thoughts and images outside the barricade. If she picks up on those, she needn't look any further. I doubt she'll even pick up on my wall. It will be like a hidden vault in a petty magician's hat. _Loki decided.

He brought up a mental image of the Chituari. It came from his own memories, but he'd modified it. In the memory, the Chituari promised to take the Tesseract and use it to destroy the mortals.

Loki smirked, feeling satisfied. If Gemma were to look into his mind, she would only find these false memories. If she tried to pry further she might find that he was hiding more. But he'd make sure she didn't get the chance to delve any further.

He closed his eyes and waited for Gemma to come to him.

**Gemma **

It had been dark outside for hours by the time Gemma decided to pay a visit to Loki. She'd waited up staring out the window of her new bedroom at the night sky. The Helicarrier was so high up that she couldn't even see the ground. It made her feel homesick in ways she couldn't grasp.

* * *

She crept through the dark hallways towards the place where Loki was kept. Her eyes were alert and her mind scanned ahead for any possible signs of danger. She picked up on two guards. It would be easy enough to get past them, she wasn't even worried. Just guilty. She knew it was wrong to use her powers on people. That's what Hawkeye had told her.

She remembered his lecture clearly.

* * *

They'd been in the training yard soon after it had been fixed up after her incident. He was teaching her how to take aim, because, despite the fact that she thought herself to be a good archer, Hawkeye could always see room for improvement. It was one of the things that would have annoyed her, had it come from anyone else. But his lack of satisfaction just made her like him all the more.

"Gem, listen to me." He'd said. "It would come a lot closer to the mark if you'd hold it up a little higher." He moved her hands to a different position, sliding her fingers further up the curve of the bow. "That's it! Now shoot."

"I don't _need _perfect aim, Clint." She'd complained.

He'd raised his eyebrows. "Of course you do."

"Not if I just _make _my enemy jump right into my arrow. It's so eas-"

"I will not have that! Gem, you cant just do that to people! We are creatures of free will. Stripping that away is cruel and… just wrong. It doesn't matter if you use your power to get a discount at the coffee shop or if you use it to make someone jump off a cliff. You really should stay out of people's heads. It's wrong."

Haweye's face was so stern that Gemma couldn't argue. She nodded and mumbled, "You're right. I won't use mind control anymore." She was quite abashed.

Hawkeye patted her shoulder. "There may be times when you have to use it. It's a gift, but one that you must use with the utmost discretion. Promise me you will."

"I promise." Gemma had said.

* * *

_This is one of those times when I can use what I've got. _Gemma thought.. _Forgive me, Clint. I'm doing to for you. All I want is to get my friend back. Loki is the only one who can bring you home._

She stepped into the flashlight beam of the first guard. He startled and fumbled with his gun.

'_I have clearance here. Don't shoot me. Go back to your bed and get some sleep. In the morning you will have forgot this ever happened.'_

The guard's eyes hazed over.

"Goodnight, miss. I was jus' headin' to bed." He slurred, re-adjusting his gun in his holster.

"Goodnight." Gemma replied, brushing past him.

She met the second guard on the catwalk.

'_Go to bed. I am supposed to be here. When you wake up tomorrow you will forget this ever happened.' _She ordered. The guilt was almost enough to make her give up and go back to bed, but she'd come this far. Besides, she needed to convince Loki to give Hawkeye back.

She walked past the guard as he mumbled goodnight and left his post.

* * *

When Gemma came into the room where Loki lay, he slowly got to his feet. He walked over to the glass and pressed his palms against it's surface.

Gemma stood on the other side looking in at him.

Loki's thin lips drew upwards in a cool smile.

"I was beginning to think that you'd never show up." He drawled.

"I thought about it." She replied, curtly.

Being so near to the god frightened her, but she was determined not to let it show. If he knew how scared she was, he'd surely use it to his advantage.

At the same time, with only the thick glass between the two of them, Gemma couldn't help but take in his appearance.

She compared the long, choppy hair and various cuts and bruises to the clean cut hair and smooth polyester skin of the Loki that hid in his subconscious.

She remembered the fear in his eyes right before everything changed. With a sudden realization, she thought, _he's _scared. _His subconscious is hiding from the monster he's become. _

She thought back to what she knew about split personality disorder, but frowned. It didn't fit. What was going on with Loki was much more complicated and she couldn't put her finger to it.

"I'm glad you came." Loki breathed. His bright green eyes blazed through the darkness. Gemma could almost feel them on her face.

"I only came for one reason." She said.

"You desire that I'd return your friend." Loki spoke. He took obvious pleasure in seeing Gemma jerk back in surprise.

He knew.

Loki smiled and went on, "I shall return you friend to you. But only providing you help me." He said smoothly.

"Why would I ever help you?" She spat.

"Because, if you don't, the rock you call home will crumble." He answered.

"Is that a threat? Because, you should know that S.H.E.I.L.D. isn't going to let you win this war."

"You've misunderstood my intentions, young Waif. Hear me out." He looked imploringly at Gemma and she nodded. _It wont hurt to hear what he's got to say._

"There is a race of aliens who call themselves the 'Cituari'. They are vile warlords, evil to the core-"

"Remind you of anyone?" Gemma's voice was sarcastic. She was half expecting Loki to do something… well, evil, to punish her for her sarcasm. She was not expecting the small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I like you, Gemma. You have spirit."

Gemma felt a blush creep up her neck and colour her cheeks. She was glad it was dark, she didn't want Loki to see the effect his compliment had on her.

"My name is Gem." She interjected.

"Very well, Gem. Way I continue with my story?" Loki asked. Gemma nodded.

"As I was saying: these creatures are monsters. They plan to come to earth and steal the Tesseract. They will destroy every mortal who stands in their way, have no doubt about it."

"I don't understand. How is that any different from what you want?" Gemma asked.

"All I desire is the Tesseract."

"You have it. Why are you still here?" She asked.

"The Chituari will come, regardless of whether or not the Tesseract is still here. They need to be destroyed. I am the only one who is powerful enough to stop them before they find some other way to take over the universe. It's going to be war, Gem."

"What do you need me for?" She demanded. "If you're so strong and all-mighty, then why do you want my help?"

"I cant do this alone." He admitted, his eyes cast downwards.

Gemma couldn't believe it. A god asking for her help to save the universe from an evil alien race? Impossible.

Although she'd felt bad about infiltrating the minds of good men and women, Gemma had no qualms about doing the same to Loki.

She took a deep breathe and dove in.

* * *

The inside of Loki's head was a wasteland of snow. Frozen glaciers spread out everywhere she looked.

Unlike Bruce Banner's mind, Loki's was surprisingly barren. A few drifting thoughts here and there. Some memories. Some emotions, but not many. The ones she could pick up on were rage, fear, pain and loss.

Gemma saw one particular memory drifting past her head. She reached up and grabbed hold of it; instantly she found herself inside.

* * *

In his memory, Loki lay in a crumpled heap in a barren rocky landscape. A _monster _loomed over him. The very sight of it made Gemma's skin crawl. She'd never seen anything quite so awful.

"We are the Chituari." The thing addressed Loki.

It went on to explain their plans for taking over the universe, starting with earth.

That was enough to convince Gemma. She forced herself out of the memory and then out of Loki's head altogether.

* * *

"You're done invading my privacy?" Loki asked, when she'd returned to her body.

"I saw nothing wrong with it. I had to make sure you were telling the truth." She replied, coolly.

"Am I? What's your verdict?" Loki asked.

"I believe you." She answered, looking him in the eyes.

"So, you'll help me." He stated.

"I didn't say I'd help you. I said I believed you. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go straight to Fury and tell him everything." She demanded.

"The Chituari are powerful. If you alert S.H.E.I.L.D. they will, without a doubt, try to stop them. If that happens, every last one of your friends will be mercilessly slaughtered.

You mortals may be my inferiors, but I do not wish to waste the blood of any to be spilt. If you tell your Director, everyone will die." He explained.

Gemma mulled over it for a moment in silence.

"I understand." She said at last.

"Excellent. You will get your friend back soon. But then you will accompany me to stop the Chituari. And you will not breathe a word of any of this to anyone. Don't say anything, not even about what you saw in my subconscious."

"Why not?"

"It's personal, Gem. Surely you can understand that." Sighed Loki.

"Okay, okay. I promise." She said. "But you are locked up. How are you supposed to stop the Chituari from a glass cage?" She was skeptical.

"You are naïve, Gem. I am only here because I choose to be. It would be effortlessly easy for me to break out. I am merely biding my time."

The two stood still, watching each other in silence for a moment longer. At last, Loki smiled devilishly.

"Go to bed, Gem. You look like, as you mortals put it; shit. Some sleep wouldn't hurt you."

Gemma blushed again. Then, without another words, she stalked off.

_What have I got myself into? _


	13. Sanctuary

Chapter 13

Sanctuary

**Loki**

Loki lay back in his unfurnished cell. He listened to Gemma's footfalls as she walked away. He couldn't explain it, but he half wished that she wouldn't go. He didn't want her to leave him there, alone in the glass cage.

_I can't actually care for the girl! She's a pawn, a common chess piece. I must stop this at once. _

_I'll get out of this place tomorrow. Teach these pathetic mortals what it means to lock up a god. _

His mind was scrambled. It was hard work holding up the mental barrier from Gemma. He'd have to give Nick Fury more credit than he'd have liked to. The man had some serious mental capabilities.

With a deep sigh, Loki let the icy wall surrounding his innermost privet thoughts crumble. It melted like ice and provided instant relief.

He closed his eyes and brought to mind the images of his cohorts. Clint Barton and Dr. Erik Selvig. He merely had to think his command and they would do his bidding.

_Wreak havoc upon the Helicarrier. Tomorrow. Midday. And you, Barton: you'll let yourself be captured. _

With the promise of tomorrow's breakout, Loki felt relaxed enough to finally close his eyes and ease into a restful sleep.

**Gemma**

The sun was nearly up by the time Gemma had settled down in her bed. She hadn't even bothered to undress. Her soldier outfit was snug and tight but she hardly noticed. She was much too tired to care for her own physical comfort.

As she drifted off to sleep, Loki's brilliant green eyes blazed behind her closed eyelids.

_Who are you? _Were the last coherent words that formed in her head before she lost the battle with fatigue and let her mind be pulled under into restful oblivion.

* * *

No sooner than had Gemma closed her eyes when she opened them again. She found herself back in her old dream. In Loki's subconscious on the green grass next to the lake.

She could see Loki sitting there; the water lapping at his toes. His back was to her and he didn't hear her approach. Silently, she came up beside him and sat down at his side.

"I was wondering when you'd return." He said, when he saw her there.

"I didn't intend to!" Gemma winced at the sharpness of her words. "The last time I was here, you gave me this." She said, holding out her arm to him so he could see the bruise on her wrist.

Loki frowned, taking her hand in his own and touching the bruise lightly.

"I am not responsible." He said at last, letting her go.

A spark of anger light in Gemma's heart. "You mean to say that I am to blame for _your _actions?" her voice was low and lethal.

Loki's eyes widened with shock. "No! No of course not! I only meant that it wasn't _me. _Or at least, not _this _me." He said, quickly.

"I don't understand._ Who are you_?" Gemma implored.

"There's quite a bit that you don't understand, Gem." He said, not unkindly. "My name is Loki. Loki Odinson."

"Odinson? But I thought you're Laufeyson!"

Loki sighed. He lay back, propping himself up with one elbow so that his torso was facing her.

"We all have a past, present and future. You know that. I guess you can say that I am Loki's past. I am who he once was. Before I ever heard the name 'Laufeyson.'"

Gemma nodded. "Go on."

"There were… things that happened to me. Things that happened that changed me in ways that were beyond normal. Everyone changes, Gem. But not like this."

His nimble fingers traveled up to her arm. He traced invisible designs lightly with the tips of his fingers as he spoke.

"I could no longer bear it. Who'd I'd become. So I came here: my own subconscious. This is the only place I am safe from myself. Last time you were here, the _currant _me became aware of your presence. _That's_ why you were harmed."

Gemma felt something rise in her chest. What was it? Sympathy?

"I'm sorry." She muttered. Without thinking, she captured his hand with her own and hoped he would not find it to forward of her when she intertwined their fingers.

His sparkling eyes met her own. Neither of them said a word.

"I wish I had met you when I was still… like this. Things could have been different." He murmured.

"I would have liked that." Gemma admitted.

"Gem, I know not everything that goes on in my own head. But I must warn you: do not trust me. I have become a monster." His face was serious. The joking smile that had been on his lips was gone.

"What do you mean?" Gemma asked. "I searched your-his mind. There was only truth."

She laid back, resting her head beside him. He settled down next to her, so that the lengths of their arms were touching.

"Be weary." He advised in a low voice.

* * *

Time passed. It felt like hours. Gemma eased into a whole new comfort zone. She felt safer here than she'd felt anywhere else.

The two of them hadn't wasted a moment of their time together; they talked, told stories and exchanged jokes.

"I want to show you something." He said, suddenly. His eyes gleamed with joy.

"Okay." Gemma said.

Loki's fingers fluttered a bit in the air. Gemma watched intently. To her amusement, water danced up from the lake, sparkling in the air above their head like glitter.

"You're doing that?" she asked, not believing her own eyes.

Loki grinned. "It's easy enough compared to the kind of stuff I've done before."

The water droplets hung in the air like glittering diamonds. Shimmering and dancing at his will. Gemma held her breath. She was awestruck at the way the water was suspended above her head without a single drop splashing her.

She smiled and broke her gaze on the water show, turning to look at Loki. She found that he was already looking at her. His eyes bore into her own, taking her breathe away.

Their faces were very close now. Her forehead rested against his own. Her eyes flittered closed and she could feel him moving even closer. His breathe felt warm on her cheek.

Gemma's heart was racing. Up until now, she'd had no idea that she wanted this so bad. She _needed _to feel his lips on hers.

Suddenly, before their lips had met, Gemma felt an icy chill seep into her bones. She heard a clinking sound and felt the water fall down upon them; frozen into ice.

Loki bolted upright. The moment had shattered; much like the frozen droplets of water that broke upon hitting the earth.

The sky had turned dark and stormy. The lake began to freeze over so fast that Gemma could see the ice forming.

"Gem, you need to get out of here. NOW!" Loki yelled, jumping up and pulling her to her feet.

"If you're discovered here a second time, who knows what will happen!" He was still yelling. His eyes were frantic with worry.

Gemma panicked.

"I don't know how to wake up!" she screamed back at him.

She could practically see the gears whirring in Loki's mind. "Do you trust me?" he demanded.

She nodded, uncertainly.

"If I can shock you enough, it should wake you up. I'm sorry about this, Gem. It's all I can think of."

No sooner had the words left his mouth when he shoved her with all his force into the freezing lake.

In all her years at S.H.E.I..L.D. Gemma had never learned how to swim. She gasped as the freezing water hit her skin. It filled her mouth and her nose. As she bobbed beneath the surface, ice caked over; trapping her under water. Her lungs screamed. Before long, Gemma lost consciousness. Her body floated down and hit the bottom of the lake with a thunk, startling up a few fishes.

* * *

Gasping, Gemma came to. She was tangled up in her sheets; back in her own bed. She lay there, panting for a moment as she tried to take it all in.

_'Holy. Shit.' w_ere the only two words she managed to think.

**Thank you guys for all the support! update tomorrow or later tonight (if I get around to it).**


	14. Maelstrom

**Thanks for everything, you guys are the best!**

**I received a PM regarding the length of this story. I'm planning around 18 chapters and a sequel. **

**I'm sorry for the late update, but theres a very good reason! Mordia Pender did some (a lot ) Beta Reading for me! So if you notice (and you will!) that my grammar is better, it's all thanks to her!**

**So yeah, special thanks to Mordia Pender!**

Chapter 14

Maelstrom

**Loki**

Loki awoke before dawn that morning. Despite the little sleep he'd gotten, he felt rested and rejuvenated. He had no notion of what had actually occurred in the friendlier recesses of his very own mind. Had he known, he would have been in a far bleaker mood. In actuality, he found himself to be quite pleasantly eager for the day to start.

_Today I shall bring S.H.E.I.L.D. down to their shaking knees. _

* * *

He stood, lost in his own mind for the greater part of the day. He had a feeling that he just couldn't shake off. A feeling that something was wrong.

All at once, he became aware of a presence behind him. He turned around to face agent Natasha Romanoff; the Russian spy. She stood on the other side of the glass, watching him. Loki smiled.

_The stories I've heard about you… H_e thought of the things he'd heard from his enchanted minion, Clint Barton. The poor guy was "head over heels" in love with the woman!

"There're not many people who can sneak up on me," he said, partly to compliment her, and partly to "break the ice" as it were.

"You knew I'd come," It was a statement, but the way she said it, it sounded almost like a question.

"After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend. As a balm, and I would cooperate." he replied, smiling.

The smile was not returned by Natasha. Her eyes were hard as steel and her voice betrayed no emotions.

"I want to know what you've done to Agent Barton," she demanded.

Loki smirked. Mortals, they were so… predictable. He should have known that's what she wanted.

"I'd say I've expanded his mind," he replied, toying at her with his most infuriating smile. Oh, this was fun!

"And once you've won, once your king of the mountain, what happens to his mind?" She walked even closer. Loki couldn't help but appreciate the sway in her hips as she pressed her palms to the surface of the glass.

"Is this love, Agent Romanoff?" he smirked. His haunting eyes bore into her own as he searched her eyes for a betrayal of emotion.

"Love is for children" she scoffed. But Loki was too fast. He'd seen the flicker of truth pass through her eyes. "I owe him a debt," she added, slowly and with precision. It was lie she told herself often. So often that she'd almost come to believe it herself. Almost.

Loki sauntered up to her. He laid his palms over hers on his own side of the glass. "Tell me," he murmured.

Natasha consented. "Before I worked for S.H.E.I.L.D., I didn't care who I hurt. That's when I got on S.H.E.I.L.D.'s radar. In a bad way," her voice caught. "Agent Barton was sent to kill me. He made a… different call."

Loki could nearly see the memory playing out in Romanoff's head as she recounted the story. "And what will you do if I vow to spare him?" Loki asked. He was merely curious; he'd made up his mind last night to let Barton go. He'd promised Gemma.

"Not let you out," Romanoff snarled, pulling back from the glass. The warmth from her hands had left behind a print. She began to pace slowly back and forth in front of Loki.

"I know. But I like this," Loki teased. "Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man."

"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that; I'm Russian. Or, I was," she sighed; her pacing came to a stop directly in front of Loki.

"What are you now?" Loki asked. He was honest in his question; he wanted to know her answer.

"It's really not that complicated. I've got red in my ledger, and I'd like to wipe it out," she deadpanned.

Loki smiled. _That's what I thought. She is more like me than she'd ever wish to know. _

"Can you? Can you wipe out so much red? Darkoff's daughter. Sao Paulo, the hospital fire." Loki listed off the occasions Barton had told him about. "Your ledger is dripping. It's gushing red, and you think saving one man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? _This _is the basis of sentimentality. This is a child's prayer. Pathetic. You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you and they will never go away."

Loki was taken aback by his speech. He'd realized, towards the end, that he wasn't talking about Romanoff. Not really. He was talking about himself. The truth of that knowledge hit him like Thor's hammer, straight to the heart. His self-satisfied smirk vanished.

"But I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work. And when he screams, I'll split his skull," Loki finished his speech, breathing hard.

He looked up at Natasha. She wasn't facing him anymore. Her body was heaving and he could hear the mundane sound of sobbing coming from her mouth. He scoffed.

"This is my bargain, you mewling quim!" He snarled.

"You're a monster." She hissed.

Loki _felt_ that. He knew it was the truth. But what did he care? His own ledger was obscured by red, so much so that he could no longer see through it.

"Oh no. You _brought _the monster." he rebuked, thinking about Bruce Banner. Loki had known at once what the man was hiding inside.

Natasha whipped around, smirking. Loki took in her dry face. Her eyes weren't even red. The bitch had played him.

"Banner? That's your play." She laughed at the look of confusion on Loki's face.

"What?" He snarled.

"Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Send Thor as well." Natasha was speaking into a device on her ear. Her Telecom. She turned to Loki as she reached the door, about to leave. "Thank you for your cooperation." She smirked.

* * *

It a hadn't been long since Agent Romanoff's manipulation when Loki sensed his minions were aboard the Helicarrier.

_"Take out the engine. We're bringing this air-ship from Hel down," h_e thought, instructing Barton and Selvig.

Moments later, he heard as well as felt a large crashing. The force of the tilting aircraft was enough to throw Loki to the floor. He fell into the glass on the opposite wall of his prison.

_"This will not do. Time to leave," h_e thought. With a snap of his fingers, he proved that he truly could have broken out all along. The door swung open, and Loki, transforming into his regal outfit, strode out, his staff in hand.

He had barely made it a few steps when Thor rushed into the room, wielding Mjolnir.

"Brother!" Thor called in his booming voice. Loki hid a secret smile. He was standing in the doorway of the cage, braced in battle position. He had a trick up his sleeve, trusting that Thor would blunder right into his trap. As he expected, Thor rushed at him. At the very last second before he would have been tackled, Loki snapped his fingers, re-arranging his very own molecules and rending himself intangible.

To his delight, Thor soared into the trap, flying through the air that had moments before been Loki. He landed with a crash inside the glass cage. Loki snapped his fingers and the door shut. "Are you ever not going to fall for that?"

_"Idiot. He never will learn to think, will he?" _Loki thought.

"The humans think us immortal. Shall we test that?" Loki pondered, loud enough for Thor to hear. He strode confidently over to the control panel. Fury had demonstrated to him how easy it would be to drop the glass cage from the ship. Send it falling thousands of feet to the earth. The man had never suspected that Loki would use that knowledge against his own brother.

Thor let out a cry of outrage. He pounded against the walls with his hammer, but to no avail. The glass was too thick, and there was not sufficient time.

Loki faced the lever he must pull to drop Thor. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. He had to pull the lever now, or else he'd falter. He couldn't hesitate a moment longer, for he knew that he would change his mind in an instant if he didn't do it right that moment.

"Move away, please." The command came from a middle aged man wielding a prototype weapon. Agent Phil Couslon, the lap-dog of S.H.E.I.L.D.

_"The bark is louder than the bite." _Loki thought. He took a step back from the control panel.

"You like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent The Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Do you wanna find out?" Coulson gestured to the weapon in his hands. Loki smirked. This was going to be even easier than he thought. If the man was going to shoot him, he'd have done it by now.

Loki vanished. Phil ogled the place where Loki had just been. In that time, Loki had re-appeared behind the man. He lost no time in stabbing the sharp blade of his staff into Phil's back, tearing into his foolishly big heart.

Phil fell down, moaning. He slumped against the wall, breathing hard.

Loki could hear the the muffled sound of Thor screaming through the glass.

He lost no time in pulling the lever.

Loki watched with a wicked gleam in his eyes and Thor fell. The entire glass cell dropped down the iron chute, clanging as it went.

_"Goodbye, brother." _Loki thought.

The red on his own ledger was overflowing around him. He was drowning in it.

Loki loomed over Phil, smiling at his handy work. He did enjoy seeing the life-blood of the man stain the front of his shirt.

"You're gonna loose." Phil breathed.

"Am I?" Loki asked, half amused and half annoyed that Phil doubted his abilities, even with his dying breath.

"It's in your nature." Phil continued. His eyes were closed now.

"Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky… Where is my disadvantage?" Loki was squatting down next to the dying man now, their faces almost touching as Loki's eyes flamed with hatred.

"You lack conviction," Phil murmured.

Loki drew back, raising his spear. "_I'll finish this here." _He thought, preparing to stab the man again and again until he stopped talking.

"I don't think I-" he began. He was interrupted by a blast from the gun prototype that Phil Coulson was still holding. The force of the blast blew Loki back. He crashed though the wall behind him, where he landed, dazed.

_"That's it. I'm leaving. Now." _Loki snapped his fingers and he vanished, leaving behind a pile of rubble and a half dead man, holding a rocket launcher as he smiled to himself.

"So that's what it does."

**Gemma**

Gemma's safe little world aboard the Helicarrier was thrown into pandemonium. It was a maelstrom. All around her was destruction. Entire sections of the aircraft had been torn down and reduced to rubble.

She ran out to the Headquarters, searching for Fury. She didn't know what was going on.

"Out of my way, kid!" someone shouted. Tony Stark. He was suiting up in his bulky ironman gear as he pushed past her. Steve Rodgers on his heel.

"Sorry, miss," he apologized as he brushed past her. Gemma stared after the pair for a moment before running after them.

"Stark!" she yelled. He whirled round to face her.

"I don't have time to talk to you! As you can see, Loki and his goons are about to send us all to our deaths." He scowled at Gemma as he lowered his mask.

She grinned. That was all she needed to hear; Hawkeye was back. Even if he was still enchanted, he was back.

* * *

The turmoil lasted almost an entire hour. Each time Gemma heard an explosion she expected it to be the last. Surely this time the ship would fall from the sky. But it never did.

She was hunkered down in the Headquarters with a handful of other soldiers, waiting for their orders.

At last, Fury charged into the room. He carried someone in his arms. Silence fell across the room when Fury laid the man down on a table. It was Agent Phil Coulson. Gemma felt her heart sink. She didn't know the man personally, but all the same, she hated seeing him there. Dead. His unseeing eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Everyone!" Fury had turned to address the room. "Listen up. Tony and Steve have stabilized the engines. We are not going to fall."

The soldiers cheered.

"Everyone's duty is to clean up this mess," he nodded at the broken windows and smashed walls.

"Yes sir!" the soldiers replied. Gemma got up to do the same.

Fury caught sight of her. "Gem!" He called.

"Yes?" she asked, uncertainly, breaking free of the crowd to join him.

Fury, surprisingly broke into a grin. "There's someone who wants to speak to you," He patted her back.

"Through those door and to the left. Up the first stairs and to the right. You can't miss him."

Gemma felt elation bubbling up in her heart. It must be Clint. He was okay!

She managed to thank Fury before dashing off, all too excited to see her friend.

* * *

She found him reclining on a chair chatting absently with the Russian spy, Agent Romanoff. When he caught sight of her, his eyes lit up.

Gemma rushed forward, falling in at his side.

"Clint!" She cried, beaming.

Natasha cleared her throat. Gemma looked up to see the curvy woman peering at her suspiciously.

"You must be Gem. Agent Barton has told me all about you. I'm glad he has such a _good_ friend," Romanoff addressed Gemma. Gemma detected a slight edge in the spy's words, and, after watching the pair for a moment, Gemma knew why.

Natasha Romanoff loved Clint Barton. Is was clear in the way her fingers stroked his hair and in the way her eyes softened when she looked at him. Gemma realized Natasha was worried that Gemma would try to steal him away. The thought was almost enough to make her laugh, but she held it in.

"He's an amazing _friend," s_he emphasized. The message was clear: Natasha had nothing to fear from Gemma. The former's face split into a grin.

"I'll leave the two of you alone then," she excused herself.

Once Romanoff was gone, Gemma gushed, "I am _so _glad to see you're alright!"

Clint smiled up at her. "I'm glad your doing good as well, Gem," They smiled at each other for a moment before Clint spoke again.

"But why are you here?" he asked.

Gemma felt her face go hot. She didn't want Hawkeye to feel bad; after all, it was he who'd struck her with the car.

"I was injured when the base caved in. They had to bring me along," she muttered.

Her friend seemed to catch her drift. "It wasn't… it wasn't me, was it?" he asked, his eyes wide.

Gemma stared at the floor, not answering.

"Gem. Tell me now. Was it me?" he demanded.

Slowly, Gemma nodded.

Agent Barton let out a choked sob. He grabbed her hand. "I don't even know what to say, Gem. Only that I am sorry. And I'd never hurt you,"

Gemma looked him in the eyes. "I never blamed you," she promised.

Clint eased into a smile.

"So tell me, Gem: what have I missed since I've been… gone?"

* * *

Gemma had spent her dinner with her friend and Agent Romanoff that evening. It was nice to see him, and the food was even better for it, but she'd excused herself early after catching on to the doe eyes the two of them shared. She'd wanted to give them some privacy and she suspected they wanted it.

As she made her way towards the room where she'd been staying, she sidestepped a lot of rubble. It was going to be a huge cleanup job. She was dreading the hard work that would come.

On her way to her room, she passed the place where Loki had been imprisoned. He was gone now. In fact, the entire cage was gone. She'd heard that Thor had fallen to the earth inside it.

Besides Thor, S.H.E.I.L.D. had lost Bruce Banner. From what she'd heard, the man had transformed into the Hulk: the big green monster she'd seen in his head. He'd fallen as well. Then there was Phil Coulson. Rumor was that Loki had killed the man in cold blood.

Gemma swallowed hard. The man who she'd promised to help was a killer. She didn't know how she felt about that.

When it came to Loki, she never knew how she felt. Her most recent visit with old Loki-Loki Odinson-had complicated things even more.

She had been about to _kiss _him. Gemma didn't know how she felt about that, either.

At last, she'd come to her bedroom door. She knocked aside a piece of stray rubble and swung it open. Kicking it closed behind her, she made ready to flop onto her bed. But there was somebody already there.

Loki.


	15. Fortress

**Hey guys! Long chapter ahead! But it's a good one! (I hope!) I am really really nervous about posting this one, I think you'll see why. So be nice…? I mean, all the ****constructive ****criticism is MUCH appreciated, as is the positive feedback and all the subscriptions and favorites. **

**Gahhh this is such a big chapter. Look(i) forward to some major plot development here, guys! And something even more exciting! **

Chapter 15

Fortress

**Loki**

He'd been waiting for Gemma to return to her bedroom for only a minute when she'd entered. Loki was lounging back on her small bed, leaning against the headboard with this arms behind his head.

When she saw him there, Gemma's eyes bulged and she squeaked in surprise.

"Silence, girl," he scolded her, getting up from his short rest. "We must leave this place. Now!" He reached for her hand. Gemma flinched when their fingers met, and Loki was pleased to note the rosy hue that crept up her cheeks.

_'Why should I care that I have that affect on her?'_

With his free hand, Loki snapped his fingers and the two of them vanished into thin air.

* * *

When they rematerialized they found themselves in a luxurious room. Loki stood on a lush white carpet. An entire wall was made of glass so that you could look out at New York City below. The other three walls were simple, white and smooth. There was a full bar on one side, and a soft leather couch facing a flat-screen television along the opposite wall.

They were in Stark tower.

Loki noticed that Gemma hadn't let go of his hand. She gripped it tight as she spun around, taking in the view. Her lips were parted with wonder as she let out a low gasp of appreciation.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"You know Tony Stark, I'd assume," said Loki. His smile grew when the look of shock clouded over her features.

"We are in Tony's house?" she asked.

"If you could call it a house." Loki smirked. "Welcome to our fortress," he bowed mockingly.

That's when Gemma noticed their hands were still interlaced. Loki could practically feel the heat that came off of her as she quickly dropped his hand. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason Loki felt sad when she let go.

She cleared her throat and shuffled her feat awkwardly. The silence that ensued was lengthy and uncomfortable.

Finally, Loki spoke up. "It matters not where you choose to sleep. There are ten floors, you are welcome to take your pick."

"What about you?" Gemma asked.

"It matters not to me. I shall rest wherever I please."

Gemma scanned the room. She spied a set of heavy doors at the far end; an elevator. Slowly, she wandered over to them.

Loki watched her closely. He found himself staring at the back of her head. Her hair was long and dark brown, almost black. It was wavy in a beachy way. He also appreciated her posture; her shoulders were slight but toned nicely, and she held her head up high.

He watched her as she pressed a glossy button next to the doors. They slid open and she entered, turning to face him before they closed. For an instant, their eyes met. Loki knew Gemma could tell he'd been staring at her. Then the doors slid closed, cutting her off.

Once alone, Loki passed a pale hand over his face. He had no words to describe the emotions that were running through his head, all do to one pathetic mortal girl.

_'She's going to be the death of me.'_

* * *

It was dark now. Loki was sitting on a satin sofa on the third floor. He hadn't spoken to Gemma since she'd left him, and, to be totally honest, he was lonely.

He found mortal entertainment dry, and had destroyed the television after a particularly boring sitcom. He didn't know why he'd even bothered.

He sipped a glass of whiskey, staring at the city lights all around. He didn't much care for whiskey, the alcohol on Midgard was nothing compared to the royally brewed mead he was used to back home- on Asgard.

At last, with a sigh, Loki got to his feet, dropping the empty glass to the floor where it shattered. He walked across the glittering pieces of glass, enjoying the feel of them crunching under his feet.

He decided he was up for some fresh air.

The elevator was such a mundane form of transportation, Loki thought. All the same, he didn't see how it could hurt to try it out. A phrase popped into his head.

'_When in Rome…'_

He pressed the button for the elevator. It dinged immediately and the doors glided open.

_'Nice service.'_

When the doors closed behind him, he observed the panel of buttons. There were little round ones numbered with 1-10 plus a separate one, labeled 'Roof'. Loki pressed the roof button with a long, pale finger.

* * *

The first thing Loki noticed when he stepped off the elevator was that he wasn't alone. Gemma was sitting down with her knees folded up to her chest, her arms hugging her legs to her body. She stared up at the sky, though there were no stars. The bright lights of the city were to blame for that.

_'I should go,'_ was Loki's immediate reaction. However, he wasn't going to let a young girl scare him off. Therefore, he silently crossed the expanse of roof and sat down at her side.

He'd been so quiet that Gemma jumped a bit in surprise when he took his seat. He didn't look at her, though he felt her hazel eyes on his face.

Eventually, Gemma's eyes returned to the sky as Loki gazed down at the world below.

"Your world is filthy and chaotic," he mused, after a few minutes of silence. "But I can see why you like it. There is something comforting about the busyness of everyone. Rushing through their insignificant lives all day."

"That's true," Gemma whispered.

Loki looked at her. This time she was the one who avoided his gaze. She stared at the dark sky as if she expected to see all the stars in the galaxy.

"Can I show you something?" Loki asked. He was surprised by his own words, and by the time he'd spoken them it was too late to take them back.

Made obvious by Gemma's expression, she was equally as taken aback. He didn't know it but she was thinking of a different occasion, on which a very different Loki had spoken those same words.

"Okay," she said averting her gaze from the blank skies.

"No. Keep looking up," he instructed.

When she had tilted her head back up, Loki spread his hands out in the air above their heads.

One star appeared. Slowly, more and more popped up, twinkling like diamonds here and there. Then, all at once, the entire sky was full of shining stars.

Gemma gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful," she breathed. Loki felt a rumble of pleasure through his chest, he was proud to have made her so happy. "Only… I don't recognize any of these constellations," she added.

"These are the stars from back home," he explained. "Lay back, Gemma,"

"Gem," she mumbled, as she settled down on her back.

"Gem," Loki repeated, rolling the word around on his tongue. He'd forgotten she liked to be called that. He wouldn't forget again.

He lay back as well.

* * *

"And there, that grouping to your left," Loki was pointing out, "That one, we call Ymir, the first frost giant."

At last Loki fell silent. He'd been showing her the constellations of the nine realms for the better part of the night.

Gemma was a good learner. She studied the skies with rapt attention, taking in his every word.

It felt good, being there on the rooftop with Gemma. Besides, Loki had missed those stars, as painful as it was to admit.

They lay close together. Loki's right hand was brushing Gemma's left hand, and yet, neither of them drew back.

With a smile on his face, Loki closed his eyes. He was almost drifting off to sleep when Gemma whispered something.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, his eyes snapped open.

Gemma sighed. "I was just saying: it's a wonder, all this space… this huge universe and all these different galaxies… and us humans are so oblivious to it all. We think we are so big and clever with our stupid sky scrapers and airplanes, but in reality, we are so _small." _She took a shaky breath and Loki looked over at her.

Her eyes brimmed with tears, and Loki felt a pang in his chest.

_'I don't understand. What has she done to me?' h_e thought. Whatever it was, Loki didn't particularly dislike it. In fact, he rather enjoyed the way Gemma made him feel.

"What ails you?" he asked quietly.

At that, Gemma's tears spilled over, catching in her long eyelashes. Silently, Loki used a finger to wipe them away. Just the feel of her smooth cheek made his thoughts go haywire.

Gemma froze when he touched her face, but she didn't pull back.

"You can tell me," he assured her, removing his hand form her cheek.

"I was thinking about my mom and dad," she began. "My dad was a scientist. His name was Mark. He loved the stars. That's all I can remember about him. He was always outside late at night with his telescope, getting lost in the Milky Way. It always drove my mom nuts. She didn't care for the beyond. She was a teller at a bank back in Portland, Oregon. Her name was Carry. All she'd ever cared for was a simple life, something organized and easy to control."

"If you don't mind my asking, what happened to them?" Loki questioned.

Gemma drew in a sharp breath.

"They didn't understand me. I must have scared them; a little girl with mind control. So they gave me away. Signed me up to S.H.E.I.L.D. and left me." Gemma paused and Loki had to fight off the urge to cover her frail body with his arms, to protect her from the harsh world. "They promised to visit me. To write to me and call me often. But they never did. The day they left me was the last I ever heard from them."

Loki didn't know what to say so he remained silent. It wasn't long before Gemma's choked sobs died out into steady breaths. Loki realized she'd fallen asleep.

He stared up at their private planetarium a while longer, trying hard to bury his emotions. He didn't know who he was becoming; some kind guy who actually cared for a weakling mortal. But the thing was, he _did _care. And he was unsure of how much longer he could hide that.

So when Gemma rolled over in her sleep and ended up with he head resting on Loki's chest he scooted away, getting up and leaving her on her own.

The stars vanished with him.

**Gemma **

It was no surprise to Gemma when she ended up back in Loki's subconscious that night. The green lake and lush forest were familiar to her now, after only her second visit.

Loki was waiting for her this time. His face was light with mirth and his eyes twinkled mischievously.

"I was beginning to think you'd never show up," he joked, taking long strides to meet her.

"I can't keep myself away from this place! Every time I sleep, I find myself here," she said, laughing.

"It's a good thing you do, I'm oftentimes lonely when you're gone," he said, smiling. "Come. I have much to show you. We have many adventures laid out for today!" His face was joyous.

Happiness suited him, Gemma decided, thinking of the grim expression that always accompanied the Loki she knew. With a jolt, she realized she was coming to enjoy his company. Not just here, in the forgotten realms of his mind, but in reality as well!

She let Loki take her hand in his own and he led her to the edge of the lake.

"You do not swim," he stated when they reached it. Gemma shook her head.

"My childhood had no time for childish indulgences," she muttered.

"Swimming is actually quite an important skill to have, Gem. Back home, it is required for all children to learn before they even begin schooling." His tone was admonishing but polite. "I shall have to teach you. But not yet. We don't have the time."

"Why, what are we doing?" Gemma asked, thinking about the last time she'd been here, and blushing at the thought of how close they'd come to sharing a kiss. Gemma had never kissed anyone before; there'd never been a boy her age at S.H.E.I.L.D.

"You'll see," he said mysteriously. With that, he closed his eyes and held his hands over the dark water.

Gemma jumped back when she saw big bubbles rise to the surface. Something was coming up out of the water.

"Loki?" she said anxiously.

"Just wait!" he snapped, but not unkindly.

Gemma peered into the water as it bubbled. Slowly, something emerged.

At last, a small wooden boat bobbed up. Gemma laughed, feeling very childish at her fears. Loki grinned back.

He waded into the water up to mid-thigh. Gemma still stood on the edge, looking uncertain.

Loki offered her a hand. "Take it."

Gemma reached out and grabbed on to his hand. As always, his body temperature was slightly cooler than that of any other person she'd ever known, but in a pleasant way. Loki scooped her up like she weighed nothing. He held her to his chest and Gemma was surprised by how firm his muscles were. He smirked as if he could read her thoughts.

Gently, he deposited her in the small boat before clambering in after her. At first, the boat rocked and splashed around but Loki steadied it with his magic.

The boat moved smoothly through the water without the need for an oar.

For a long time Gemma and Loki did not talk, they simply watched each other, lost in their own private thoughts.

Gemma was thinking about him. About Loki. But the face that swam around inside her head was not the younger, lighter Loki. It was not the one she'd come to care for. Rather, it was the gaunt one. Haggard and torn. Loki Laufeyson was on her mind.

_'Interesting, how he came to change. Last I'd seen of him, he was cruel and manipulative. This is the man who murdered Phil Coulson!' _But still, she felt her heart quicken whenever she thought about the hours they'd spent together, watching the stars.

"What are you thinking about, Gem?" Loki asked, breaking the silence.

Gemma frowned. "I'm thinking about you," she said, after a moment's hesitation. It wasn't technically a lie; so why did she feel so guilty?

Loki beamed. "It must be my charm, is it not?" he teased.

Gemma returned his smile, remembering why she liked him so much. His easy manner was so comfortable, so easy. He was mischievous, yes, but no killer. Gemma let him take her hands in his own.

"We are almost there," he said, gesturing with a tilt of the head towards the green forest.

"What's out there?" she asked, feeling curiosity burning through her chest.

"I know not. But we shall soon learn!" Loki said, his face shining with excitement.

* * *

When the boat stopped, Loki got out first. He helped Gemma out and carried her to the shoreline. Even after he let her to her feet, he kept this hold on her hand.

Gemma was awestruck by the beauty of the forest. All green lights, shifting as if by magic. As they walked, hand in hand, they startled up a doe. It ran on graceful, thin legs.

"It's so beautiful!" she cried out in joy. Gemma pulled her hand free from Loki's and broke into a run, laughing.

Loki watched her for a moment before letting out a playful growl. He broke into a sprint, chasing after her.

Gemma shrieked with excitement, dodging him as they ran through the soft green light. It was the same color as Loki's eyes.

At last, breathless, Gemma slowed down, letting Loki catch her.

He fell upon her with another growl, this time of delight. He sunk to the forest floor, pulling her down with him.

She pretended to ward him off, laughing and screaming. He pushed her to the ground, leaning over her.

She lay on her back, watching him with wide eyes. Her face was flushed and her heart was beating fast. So fast she half thought it would take flight.

He crouched over her, his emerald eyes boring down into hers.

"Will you be mine, Gem?" he asked, his voice was low and deep, but playful; not possessive.

Silently, Gemma nodded.

Loki's face sunk down, closer to hers. Their foreheads rested upon each other and their noses bumped. Gemma hardly dared to breathe.

All at once, he'd closed the distance between them.

Loki's lips were soft and cool, like his skin. Gemma let herself melt into them, losing herself in the deep green pools that were his eyes.

* * *

**I'm pretty sure this has been the longest chapter so far! Tell me what you think!**

**asdfghjkl posting this makes me so nervous, I dunno why! Let me know what you think!**

**Just wondering: Which Loki do **_**you **_**prefer?**

**Don't forget to review! (Only if you want to, of course! I feel bad begging for reviews, but they really do make my day!) **


	16. Justice

Chapter 16

Justice

**Loki**

He couldn't sleep. He wasn't even tired; simply restless.

After leaving Gemma, Loki had retreated into Stark Tower. He paced around impatiently, waiting for the sun to come up.

A million thoughts where whizzing through his head at the speed of light. He took a moment to digest each and every one.

_'The Tesseract. I need to open the portal, the Chituari must come through. Tomorrow. I can't waste any more time. Then there's __Gemma. By the time the sun rises, S.H.E.I.L.D. will have realized she's missing. They will know her to be a traitor. Unless she can convince them that I have her kidnapped. It matters not to me. She matters not to me. I__ am treating her with friendship only to manipulate her. I can't control the Chituari without her help.'_

Loki swallowed. He knew he was lying to himself. There was something about Gemma that he couldn't shake off.

_"She's a mortal! She has no place in my world," _He scolded himself. But then again… '_Her parents left her. They abandoned her. I know what it is like to never feel the love of a father… A mother.'_

Loki cringed in disgust when he felt the tightness in his chest.

_'Perhaps I owe her something. If I pay off the debut I owe to her, I wont be obliged to her in any way,' he_ decided.

He thought of what he knew about Gemma's family. They lived in Portland, Oregon. (or at least they had before they sold off Gem.) Their names were Mark and Carry Shepherd. Her father was a scientist. He loved the stars. Her mom worked at a bank. S.H.E.I.L.D. paid them off with a big check. If Loki could trace that check, he'd find Mark and Carry. Pay them a visit.

* * *

Half an hour later, Loki was knocking on a wooden whitewashed door. It hadn't been hard to find out where Mark and Carry Shepherd lived, and with his magic, Loki had no trouble getting there.

His chest was raging with fury; he hated the man and woman who had disowned their very own daughter. It was sickening.

He knocked harder and harder but no one answered the door. Loki did not give up.

At last, he heard a shout come from inside.

"Do you know what the _fucking _time is?" A voice roared. "It's three FUCKING in the morning! This had better be DAMN important!"

The door swung open, and a balding, bi-speckled man stood, red in the face.

"You mother fucking son of a bitch-" he started up again when he saw Loki, dressed in his regal Asgardian wear.

"Step aside, mortal," Loki ordered, in a deadly voice.

Mark Shepherd didn't move.

Loki sighed. He nudged the man aside using the butt-end of his staff and sauntered into the house.

"I'll call the cops!" Mark warned. "Carry! Call 911!" he screamed, when Loki grabbed onto his shirt collar.

Loki spied a frazzled woman clutching a mobile phone. He pointed his staff at it and the thing emitted a puff of smoke. Carry yelped and dropped it to the ground.

Loki threw Mark down onto the floor like he was a rag doll. Carry screamed and rushed to his side, leaning over him in tears. Mark groaned in pain.

"Mommy? Dad?" an anxious voice whimpered. Loki snapped around. A small wide eyed boy stood at the foot of the stairs, watching the scene unfold with tears in his eyes.

"J-J-Jessie, go back to your room! Lock the door, baby!" Carry called, her voice heavy with tears.

Loki felt white hot rage burn through his body.

"You had another kid," he snarled, spitting out the word 'another' like it was poisonous. He turned to the kid who stood frozen with fear, unable to move.

"Come here, child," Loki ordered. "I shaln't harm one so young. A child cannot be blamed for the family he is born into!" Loki added, thinking about the Lord Laufey.

The boy took a step closer.

"NO! My baby!" Carry cried. She got to her feet.

"SILENCE!" Roared Loki. Carry halted in her tracks. Mark slowly got to his feet.

"If you harm my family, I will kill you!" he threatened.

"Now you care? Now you love your family?" Loki smiled, walking towards the man.

"I order you to return yourself to your rightful place. KNEEL BEFOR YOUR MASTER," Loki roared. Mark did not flinch. His face had turned waxen and pale. Carry let out a whimper and covered her face in her hands.

"I said, KNEEL!" Loki pointed his staff at Mark and a jet of light hit the man in the stomach, forcing him to his knees. Slowly, Loki turned to point the thing at Carry, but he didn't half to. She'd already kneeled.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mark asked through gritted teeth. "What are you?"

"My name is Loki, God of Lies. I hail from Asgard, come to rule you all." a mocking smile danced over Loki's lips as he spoke.

Carry continued to sob. "What did you mean, when you said 'no you care for you family?'" she asked, through hiccups.

"You cannot play ignorant with me, quim. I know everything about your precious baby girl who scared you to death. Was it easy, giving her up? How long did it take before you forgot about her?"

Loki slowly strode towards the cowering woman. He raised his staff and smacked it into the side of her face. She crumpled the the ground.

"Carry!" Mark cried, at the same time as their young son screamed for his mommy.

"You might know what happened, but you will never understand," Mark's voice was flat and deadly. He fought the magical bonds that had forced him to his knees. Loki watched his efforts with amusement shining in his eyes.

He raised his staff and pointed it at the woman. Just as he was conjuring enough power to fry her brains, an image popped into his mind: Dr. Selvig.

"_Master. It is complete,_" Selvig informed him.

Loki lowered his staff.

"You got lucky this time, mortal," he sneered.

He was about to leave when a better idea came to him. _'Why let these lowlifes get away with disowning their own daughter? I don't have to torture them anymore; I shall leave the rest up to them,' _

"It may be impossible, and I suspect it is, but if you wish to spare the life of your son, you'll make up for what you've done," this Loki whispered into Mark Shepherd's ear as he released the man from the magical bonds that held him from his wife's crumpled form.

He disregarded Carry completely; she was weak and shallow.

"Jessie, is it?" he asked, facing the young boy.

The kid didn't say anything, but he nodded.

"Pray that you grow up to be the half the person your sister is. It would be a shame to see such a young little soldier turn into the likes of your parents," he hissed.

With those words there was a flash of blinding green light. The Shepherd family shielded their eyes. When they opened them again. Loki was gone.

* * *

Back in Stark tower, Loki fumed. He'd never felt the way he'd been back there before. The all-encompassing rage that had devoured him; not because of his own needs, but because of someone else's pain.

He'd never tell Gemma about this. _Never._ What was one more lie, anyways? What she didn't know couldn't hurt her. And the last thing Loki wanted to do was to hurt Gem.

**Gemma**

The first thing Gemma noticed upon waking was that she was alone. The sun was bright where she lay on the rooftop.

She got to her feet, stretching. Man, was she sore. But also happy. Happier and sadder than she'd ever been in her entire life.

Loki.

She lightly pressed the tips of her fingers to her lips, where he'd kissed her. Her stomach turned when she thought of how she'd fallen asleep by the side of a much more _real _version of the god.

Gemma sighed. She didn't know what to do. She'd liked kissing Loki. Very much! But she longed for something more concrete. Loki Odinson was a man of the past, he existed only in the lost parts of his own mind. She knew, deep down, that she could never truly be with him.

Heart heavy with indecision, Gemma trudged towards the elevator. She'd pressed the button and was waiting for it to arrive when she caught sight of Dr. Selvig. His eyes were an icy blue. Loki was still controlling him.

He stood on the rooftop, fiddling around with some device that was about twice his height. Upon closer inspection, Gemma realized the blue cube that sat in the iron casing was in fact, the Tesseract.

She wandered over to him.

"Hello, Selvig," she said when she'd reached him.

He did not respond.

"What are you making?" she asked.

"Portal." he replied, curtly.

"Why?" she asked, curious.

"Master's orders," he muttered.

"What's it for?" she asked, feeling the hairs on her arms rise with dread. She had a sick feeling about this.

"His army," Selvig answered.

Gemma felt her heart beat fast. "_Army? What army? Loki never said anything about an army to me!"_

She needed to talk to Loki. Now.

* * *

"_What's going on," _she demanded, speaking directly into his mind.

"_Gem?"_he replied, sounding perplexed.

''_What is Selvig building?'' s_he asked, fiercely.

''_A weapon, to defeat the Chituari,'' h_e answered smoothly.

''_No more lies, Loki. It's a portal. For your army. I want to know why,'' She rebuked. _

For a long time there was silence. Then, suddenly, Loki appeared before her.

His face was murderous but he looked disheveled.

Gemma briefly wondered what he'd been doing all night. It was apparent that he hadn't slept.

"It is no business of yours!" he thundered.

"Yes. It. Is!" she screamed. It had been a mistake. For at once, Loki grabbed her by her shoulders and shoved her up against the wall behind her. His eyes flashed with anger.

Gemma screwed her own shut in fright, convinced he was going to strike her. But what happened next was worse. Much worse.

A sudden chill seeped into her skin. Her breath puffed out in white clouds. The place where Loki's hands gripped her was so cold it burned.

Gemma opened her eyes and met Loki's green ones. Only, they were no longer the beautiful emerald color she'd come to love. They were blood red.

His skin was a deep, frosty blue. Runes and scars disfigured his face. His body was cold, like ice. His breath was enough to give her frostbite.

"This is who I am, Gem. A monster. I am the _thing _parents warn their kids about," his grip on her loosed slightly.

"And you. You're a simple mortal girl. There is nothing in this world that would urge me to share my plans with _you._ We are not equals. When I say it is not in your place to question me, you will obey."

Gemma looked him in the eyes.

"I do not believe that you are a monster," she said, speaking clearly.

"Ah, but I am. I have lied to you, Gem. That is who I am. God of Lies; my entire life has been a lie. It's all I'm worth."

"You don't have to continue to lie. Tell me the truth. Why do you need an army?" she demanded, shivering. Her lips had turned purple and she'd lost feeling in her arms.

"To defeat my enemies," Loki growled. He released his hold on her and Gemma slumped to the ground. She huddled there, fighting for breath.

"Who are your enemies?" she gasped.

"Everyone," he said. He looked so lost and forlorn as he said those words that Gemma found she could no longer be angry with him. Everyone had their secrets, maybe she was overreacting about the portal thing. He must have wanted to be able to summon his own army to fight off the Chituari.

"No. Not everyone. I am not your enemy," she said, getting to her feet. She stood next to Loki, and slowly but surely, she laid a hand against his freezing cheek.

"Gem. No. Don't touch me!" he cried, pulling back in horror. But the damage was done. Gemma's hand lost all feeling. It was like a block of ice on the end of her arm, weighing her down.

Loki looked panicked when she cried out in pain, falling back to the ground and clutching her hand to her chest.

She closed her eyes, refusing to the tears fall. When she opened them again, Loki was crouched before her. He was back to normal, his frost giant heritage hidden underneath his pale skin and green eyes.

He refused to meet her eyes as he took her frostbitten hand and murmured incantations at it.

"This is the best healing spell I know. It is going to take some time, but your hand should be okay."

He dropped her hand and got to his feet.

The concern that had momentarily flashed on his face was hidden by an emotionless mask.

"S.H.E.I.L.D. will know your gone by now. If you want, I can take you somewhere, anywhere and leave you, that way you can have them collect you. You don't have to stay here," he said, his voice was flat and lifeless.

"No. I'm not leaving you," she said, without hesitation.

"You'll help me, even after what I've done?" he asked, disbelief shone in his eyes.

"I promised I would," Gemma replied.

A smile returned to Loki's face, seeing it lightened Gemma's heart. But it was short-lived.

"Master. A man approaches, flying in a suit of iron," Slevig spoke up suddenly.

Loki's head snapped up.

"Stark."

* * *

******Heads up: only two more chapters left to this story!**

******Anyways, I don't feel so good about this ^^ chapter. I had massive writers block all day and it was very hard to write, but I did promise an update so… yeah. This entire chapter really is meant to jump start the sequel. It will all tie in and make sense in the next story, so if you're a little confused you'll just have to read it ;) **

** Writer's block is a bitch. ):**

**The last two chapters will be better though, I promise!**

**Thanks so much to all of you! **


	17. Blood

Chapter 17

Blood

**Loki **

"Get out of here!" Loki hissed at Gemma.

She nodded, a look of determination on her face before she took off running, glancing over her shoulder at Loki as she went.

She'd only just managed to find a hiding place when Tony Stark landed on the roof. Loki strolled casually over, but Tony still hadn't seen him. Instead, he was conferring with Selvig. Loki could just make out what they were saying.

"Shut it down, Dr. Selvig," Tony ordered, striding towards the Tesseract-powered portal-opener-device.

"It's too late! It can't stop now. He wants to show us something! A new universe," Selvig spoke in a dead monotone.

"Okay," Tony muttered, shrugging. He pointed a fist at the device and his iron man suit powered up to shoot.

Loki grinned manically. What Tony didn't know was that if he tried to shoot the device, he would only activate it.

_'This is almost too good!' _Loki thought.

Tony fired. Immediately, a blue bolt of energy shot up from the device to the spot in the sky. The soft afternoon sky ripped open, exposing the world of the Chituari.

_'Let there be war.'_

The panic on Tony's face when realized what he'd done made Loki's day. He grinned with the utmost pleasure, snapping his fingers and vanishing.

He reappeared in the penthouse suite of Stark Tower, where he knew Tony would soon arrive.

"_Loki! There are these… things! Coming out of a hole in the sky! Oh god, oh god." _Gemma's panicked voice sounded shrill in his own mind.

"_Yes. Stark brought the Chituari upon us. Listen, Gem. Keep them away from the Tesseract at all costs," h_e instructed. He hoped that Gemma would be able to do so. Because if they got the Tesseract, Loki knew they would break their alliance. He knew how to play the lying game well.

At the same time, the words of the Chituari leader echoed in his head: "If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevasse where I can't find you. You think you know pain? He will make you _long_ for that so sweet as pain."

_'Looks like I'm really in for it.'_

Loki couldn't help feeling worried, but he knew he had to stay focused, or else really get hurt.

Suddenly, the doors to the penthouse opened. Tony stark strolled in, unsuited.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," Loki said, sarcastically.

"Uh...actually, I'm planning to threaten you," Stark raised his eyebrows, walking past Loki casually. Loki tensed.

"You should have left your armor on for that," he replied, keeping his eyes trained on Stark, weary of any sudden movement.

"Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the blue stick of destiny," Tony admitted, with a lofty shrug if his shoulders. He reached the bar and ducked behind it.

Loki watched him as he poured himself a glass of expensive looking alcohol.

Stark noticed his stare. "Would you like a drink?" he asked, only half joking.

"Stalling me won't change anything!" Loki growled.

'_Why is he here? Does the man think me a fool? I shall show him who the true fool is!'__  
_

"No, no, no! Threatening," Tony repeated, raising his hands. "No drink?" he repeated. "You sure? I'm having one." he raised his glass to his mouth and took a lengthy sip.

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?" Loki muttered, turning to face the glass windows so he could see his army spilling out of the sky. He half regretted it now, but it was too late and he'd come too far.

"The Avengers. It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type of thing," Stark leaned against the bar, sipping his drink.

"Yes, I've met them," Loki reminded him.

"Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demi-God; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them..." Stark's voice hadn't lost it's sarcastic quality, but his eyes were dead serious.

Loki gazed out the window at his army, frowning. "That was the plan," he rebuked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you,"

"I have an army!" Loki said, his smile returning as he gestured to the portal Tony had created in the sky.

"We have a Hulk," Tony fired back, grinning cockily.

"I thought the beast had wandered off," Loki sneered.

_'Bruce Banner... the man is just as much of a monster as I am. Him and I, we are the same...' _Loki thought.

"You're missing the point. There's no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it!"

Tony had lost his patience now. Loki could tell he was genuinely ticked off.

Loki spun around, raising his staff. He advanced on Tony, cornering him. "How will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?" he snarled, envisioning "earth's mightiest heros" being forced to kill their own friend.

He smiled wickedly as he touched the tip of his staff to Tony's heart, preparing to control him. However, nothing happened.

Loki frowned and muttered, "This usually works…" He tried again. Still, nothing happened.

"Performance issues?" Tony smirked.

Loki growled. The sound was low and deadly, and it pleased him to see the hair on Tony's arms rise at the sound.

Loki grabbed Tony around the neck and chucked him to the floor, seething in anger.

"Jarvis, anytime now!" Tony said, his voice was panicky as he scuttled backwards away from Loki.

Loki was too quick; he seized Tony once more. He lifted the man up by his neck, squeezing tightly.

"You will all fall before me," he murmured into Tony's ear, his mouth puffed cold air at the base of Tony's neck.

At those words, Loki flung Tony at the window with all his might. The glass shattered as Stark fell, plummeting ten stories towards the street below.

Loki smiled and wiped his hands on the fabric of his pants, as if washing off a bad memory.

He turned on his heel, satisfied with his work, when he heard a shout from directly outside the broken window.

"There's one more person you've managed to piss off! His name is Phil!"

It was Stark, suited up in his iron gear. He'd survived.

Loki scowled and raised his staff, prepared to blast the man out of the sky, but it was too late; he'd already sped away to join the battle against the invading Chituari.

Loki himself was eager to fight, but he had more pressing matters at hand. He rushed to the rooftop where he found Selvig lying unconscious next to his device. Loki kicked him aside and began to search for Gemma.

He found her, not far away. She was cowering behind another of Tony's bars. One of the alien warriors had her backed up into a corner. Loki could tell she was trying her hardest to ward the thing off, but her mind wasn't powerful enough. Not when she had to focus on protecting the Tesseract as well.

Loki shot a blast of power at the creature, killing it. Gemma flushed with relief, getting to her feet and rushing to his side.

"What do we do?" she yelled over the sounds of gunfire and human screams.

"Just keep them away from the Tesseract! If you're in trouble, call for me. I wont let anything hurt you!" he yelled back. "Here, use this to protect yourself!"

Loki didn't know what he was thinking. All he knew was that New York City was too dangerous for a mortal girl. Perhaps he just wanted to wipe some of the red from his ledger...

He thrust his staff into her arms. Her face blanched.

"No, I cant! You need this! Besides, I'm not magical, I can't contro-"

"I don't need it. Its powered by the Tesseract, you don't need to use magic!"

Loki vanished before she had a chance to argue.

* * *

"Brother!" Thor boomed, grabbing Loki around the waist and pulling him.

"I AM NOT YOUR BROTHER!" Loki screamed, enraged. All the wanted was to fight. He didn't have time for Thor.

"Loki." Thor was humoring him and Loki knew it. "Turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it." he commanded.

Loki recognized the voice Thor was using. It was his mighty voice, the voice of a king ordering around his salves.

That really pushed Loki over the edge.

"You can't. There's no stopping it!" Loki spat. His voice was heavy with venom. "There is only WAR!" he screamed.

There'd been a time when Thor understood the glories of war. Thor, who had always been the first to rush headfirst into battle. Thor's exile on Midgard had softened him, and Loki despised him for it.

"So be it." Thor's voice was sad. Loki took that moment to lunge at the god of thunder. He might not have his staff, but he still had his magic, and for what it was worth, Loki was one of the best Sorcerers to ever grace the Nine Realms.

"Look at this! Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?" Thor cried, slamming Loki into a wall.

Loki leapt up, sending a blast of icy blades at Thor's head. The bigger man dodged them easily.

Another blow from Thor sent Loki to the ground once more.

He knew he couldn't win against Thor's brute force. The older god had always been stronger than him. But Loki had another trick.

He gazed up at Thor, willing his face to soften with innocence. "It's too late." he whimpered. "It's too late to stop it."

Loki knew Thor's weakness: love. _'What a fickle whore, love..._'

The ruse worked. Thor offered Loki a hand, helping him to his feet.

"No. We can. Together!" Thor assured Loki, looking him in the eyes.

It had worked; Thor wasn't paying attention. Loki pulled a small silver dagger from the inside of his armor. Without hesitation he stabbed it in Thor's gut.

He knew the small knife wouldn't stop Thor; he was too strong for that. But it would slow him down. And mostly, it would hamper his spirits. Loki had pulled the one trick he knew would go straight to Thor's overly large heart.

"Sentiment." Loki scoffed, twisting the knife.

Thor made a grab for him, wincing in pain. But he was too slow; Loki had already leapt off the building. He landed on the back of one of the Chitauri war chariots and disappeared into the bloody glories of battle.

**Gemma**

Gemma had been guarding the Tesseract from the Chituari using a combination of the power from Loki's staff as well as her mind control. She'd never been good at double tasking, but now she found herself turning murderous aliens away from the blue cube, away from herself, away from her S.H.E.I.L.D. friends on the ground and away from the innocent civilians. It was very exhausting, not to mention her one useless hand. The magic Loki had used was slowly defrosting her skin, but her right hand was no more useful than a block of ice dangling from her wrist.

She took aim at one of the Leviathans with the staff as it crashed through a building across the street. The bolt of power only seemed to annoy the huge eel-like beast, which was not the reaction she'd been hoping for. It was now headed right towards her. She panicked, firing at it again and again, all the while backing up until she stood flat against a wall.

If there ever was a time when Gemma had been relived to see Tony Stark, it was right then. The man didn't even see her (for which she was thankful) but he definitely saved her life. If he hadn't flown straight into the gaping jaws of the beast and torn it apart from the inside out, it would have surely killed her.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she slumped against the wall to catch her breath. That's when she saw one of the Chituari warriors standing before the Tesseract.

With a cry, Gemma leapt to her feet and charged it, planning on running it through with the blade of the staff.

It turned and looked straight at her.

"You intend to keep me from what is rightfully ours," the thing hissed.

Gemma froze. '_Rightfully theirs?'__  
_

The creature laughed. The sound was worse than knifes being drug down a chalkboard.

"That's right; Loki promised us the Tesseract in exchange for our army!" his face split into an evil smile as he watched the confidence vaporize off of Gemma's face.

"He promised us the Tesseract in exchange for our army..." the alien repeated softly to himself. "Now he withholds it from us despite the consequences."

_'I am such an idiot! Loki's been playing me this whole time! He made me betray my own race to his subjection!' _Gemma was screaming with emotions inside; all conflicting. But she didn't have time to be mad at Loki. All she had time for was her own safety.

"Get back!" she growled, raising the staff.

"No!" snarled the alien, reaching for the Tesseract.

The bolt of power from the staff hit the Chituari at the same time that it grabbed for the cube. The result was an immense explosion of blue light. Gemma only had time to open her mouth in a silent 'o' before she was blown backwards. The staff flew from her hands and landed just out of her reach as she slammed into the concrete roofing.

She fought to keep conscious, knowing that the lives of so many depended on her ability to control the invaders. '_Loki's invaders,'_

When the Chituari had first descended into New York City, Gemma had assumed it was a malfunction caused by Tony shooting the device. It had never crossed her mind that Loki had been lying all along; the Chitauri were _his_ army the whole time. He'd lied to her and he'd lied to _them_, tricking them into an alliance that only benefitted himself.

_'Legend has it that Loki possessed a 'Silvertongue' and with it, he could lie to anybody so efficiently that they would believe his every word. The God of Lies was so good at his craft that it became known as a form of magic in itself.'_

Gemma didn't know where the words had come from, but they were a comfort because they meant she wasn't the fool. She'd fallen for Loki's Silvertongue, like so many before her. And the best part? I wasn't her fault.

Silent tears ran down her face. She didn't know why she was crying. Was it because she'd been tricked? Because she'd betrayed S.H.E.I.L.D.? Was it because of the physical injures she was suffering from? Or could it be that Loki had hurt her with his lies in a much more personal way?

She didn't believe that everything had been a lie. He cared about her; she was sure of it. And that had to mean something, didn't it?

Gemma knew she was fighting a loosing battle. At last, she let herself relax into the comfort of her own head as she passed out. The exploding world of blood, death and war faded into blackness.

* * *

**I'm sorry I'm no good at action scenes!**

**ummmm yeah so theres the 2nd to last chapter! I hope you liked it. (I'm not too sure I did. Bahh writers block!) **

**Thanks for all the reviews, you all are so kind! I wish I had the time to reply to everyone, but just think of this as a personal 'thank you' to everyone. **

**The last chapter will be posted as soon as possible! :)**


	18. Touch

**This is it guys, last chapter! Thank you all so much for sticking with me!**

* * *

Chapter 18

Touch

**Gemma**

Gemma rubbed her eyes, stretching out with a yawn. She blinked and Clint Barton's face swam before her eyes.

"Gem," he said, smiling. "I was beginning to think that you'd never wake up!" he took her hands in his own.

Gemma tried to speak but her mouth was dry. "Water," she gasped.

"Right, yeah. Water," he muttered scrambling around jerkily for a moment before handing her a paper cup.

Gemma drank deeply, finishing the cup without pausing for a breath. She handed the cup back to her friend and he refilled it using a plastic bottle.

"What happened?" she asked, once she'd regained her senses.

"You were knocked unconscious during the battle. We found you, half dead hours later. I suspected the worst. I um, I haven't left your side since..." he explained, blushing a little when he reached the bit about not leaving her side.

"How long has it been?" Gemma asked, allowing herself a small smile.

"A little over twenty four hours."

"Was anyone hurt?" she demanded, concern clouding her face.

"No," he grinned. "Tony killed the Chituari. Tasha sealed the portal."

"Tasha, huh?" Gemma teased, wagging her eyebrows.

Hawkeye blushed beet red. "Agent Romanoff," he barked.

Gemma gave him a knowing smile. He returned it, grinning sheepishly.

"Loki told us how he kidnapped you and forced you to work for him. I am sorry, Gem. You must have been so scared," Clint said, speaking in a low voice. His grey eyes bore into her hazel ones.

Something caught in Gemma's throat. Loki had lied for her. He could have told them the truth. She would have been punished, of course, but what did it matter to him?

Gemma felt like she was back in that frozen lake, drowning as she struggled uselessly for the surface. Her thoughts were so muddled she didn't know what to think, who to believe. All she knew was that she was alive and safe. Her feelings towards Loki were so foggy that she was unable to decode them. He'd lied to her, as was his nature. And he'd used her, also predicable. He'd hurt the people she cared about, and killed many others. But he'd healed her hand, saved her life and he'd lied _for_ her. And of course, most importantly, he cared about her deeply; that much he could not hide, try as he might.

Gemma was lost in her thoughts until a knock at the door startled both her and Agent Barton.

"Come in!" Clint called.

The door opened and a tall brawny man walked in. With his shoulder length blonde hair, twinkling blue eyes and large hammer; he could only be Thor. Gemma had never seen him before though she knew he'd been abroad the Helicarrier since Loki had been brought in.

"I have something for the Lady," he said, bowing as he came in.

Barton caught Gemma's eye and they both fought to hold in laughter at Thor's unconventional manner.

"What is it?" Gemma asked, propping herself up with her elbows as she fought to hide her grin.

"I think it would be best if we were alone..." Thor muttered, his eyes darted to Barton sheepishly.

"Oh... okay then." Gemma said, looking up at her friend, he shrugged and got up. "I'll be right out here, Gem." he said as he closed the door behind him.

"I am sorry I had to dismiss Agent Barton. He is a good man and I trust him," Thor apologized once they were alone, he shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"When we were little, my brother and I were close. We were polar opposites, yes, but we loved one another all the same," Thor began, taking his seat in the chair that Hawkeye had recently occupied.

"Shortly after Loki fell off the bi-frost bridge, I came upon a journal that once belonged to him. It was very old and covered in dust. Inside were written different incantations and recipes for potions and magic spells. I got in the habit of bringing it with me wherever I went because it reminded me of him... of how he used to be."

Gemma's heart was beating very fast. What did Thor want? Why was he telling her all this?

"Every night I read a page in the book. Even after I found Loki on Midgard I kept reading,"

Tears threatened to spill from Thor's eyes. "You must think my brother to be a monster, after what he made you suffer through, but he wasn't always this way,"

"Thor, I know he's not evil. The brother you love is still there, deep inside." Gemma said, grabbing the man's hand and squeezing it to comfort him. She didn't know why she'd said it, but she knew it to be the truth, all the same.

Thor smiled, "You don't know how much I needed to hear that!" he said.

Gemma returned his watery smile with a small uneasy one of her own.

"Last night I found this in the book," Thor said as he produced something from an interior pocket of his Asgardian gear.

Thor handed Gemma a loose page. It was yellowed and torn around the edges. It was clearly very looked down at it. It was a note, but that wasn't the strange part. The strange part was that the note was addressed to her.

"'Tis peculiar, is it not?" Thor asked. "T'was written long ago. You see, back then, Loki still signed his name with 'Odinson'."

Thor pointed at the signature at the end of the letter with a thick finger.

"I better go now; there is much for me to do. I think it would be well for you to read the letter," Thor said, getting to his feet and clearing his throat. "Good day to you, my Lady."

"Thank you," Gemma mumbled, too enthralled by the paper she was holding to even glance up as Thor left the room.

* * *

'_Gem, I thank you for everything you have shared with me. I hold my memories with you dear to my heart. However, all good things come to an end. My time is long since due; I should have moved on long ago, to where I belong. What's past is over; but never forgotten. _

_-Loki Odinson'_

* * *

Gemma re-read the note again and again, tears blurring her vision. She was able to understand what had confused Thor so much, though not completely. It was her best guess that the Loki from the past (the one she'd met inside Loki's subconscious) had left her this note. She did not know how he'd done it, but that didn't particularly matter.

He was gone now. That was clear. '_It's kind of bittersweet; at least I know he isn't hiding from himself any longer. He didn't belong in the world of the present. He belonged in the past,' t_hought Gemma.

The door opened again and Gemma folded the note up before tucking it her shirt. Barton wandered back in.

"What'd the the guy want?" he asked jovially.

Gemma shook her head. She couldn't explain it, not even to her best friend.

"I just have a question," she mumbled, not daring to look him in the eye.

"I have an answer," he replied, smiling.

"What happened to Loki?"

The words seemed to catch on her lips. She had trouble choking them out; she almost was too scared to hear the answer. But she had to know.

Barton's smile faded.

"He's being locked up. Tomorrow we'll send him back to Asgard with Thor. He is going to receive the punishment he deserves."

Gemma felt her heart sink.

"Do you think they'll kill him?" she asked, meekly.

Barton studied her face seriously for a moment.

"Can I tell you a story, Gem?" he asked, avoiding her question.

She nodded, perplexed.

"One of my first assignments when S.H.E.I.L.D. hired me, was to hunt down and kill a woman. We knew she was bad news; killed whoever got in her way. I was so ready to end her life," Clint paused and took a deep breath. "Until I got to know her. And, in the end, I couldn't do it. People change, Gem. And I fell in love with her. I've loved her ever since..." he sighed. "and I still do."

Gemma's mind raced. What was he saying? Did he know? He must know how Gemma felt about Loki.

"Here, come with me," Hawkeye took her hand and helped her out of bed.

He led her though dark hallways, through heavy doors and down flights of stairs. They came to a stop next to a metal door. Barton pressed his thumb into a security scanner. The door opened up to grant them access.

"I'll give you five minutes," he said, turning and walking away.

Gemma stared after him for a moment before walking through the doors. They slid closed behind her.

* * *

Gemma was lost in darkness. When her eyes adjusted she made out a light switch on the wall beside her. She flipped it and the room was flooded with bright florescent lighting. It illuminated the form of a man, lying in a crumpled heap on the ground.

Loki.

A primal fear encased Gemma's heart. The man wasn't moving, for all she knew, he could have been dead. Gemma rushed to his side. When she touched him he groaned and rolled over to face her.

"Gem?" He muttered, squinting up at her.

Gemma let out a sigh of relief; he was alive. But with that realization came a new emotion: resentment.

"YOU MOTHER-FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!" she yelled, remembering her humiliation. "How could you do that to me? Trick me into betraying my own-"

The furious remarks died on her lips when she saw his face.

"What happened to you? Oh god Loki, you look like shit!"

Loki's body was battered and bruised. His face as a mess of cuts and clotting blood.

She sunk to her knees, placing a hand to his face tenderly.

His eyes met hers, and in them Gemma could see everything he'd never said. The pain and the loss. The regret and the fury, the rage and the sorrow. But most of all, Gemma saw that he _cared_ for her.

And in that instant, Gemma realized that the world was made up of things that mattered and things that didn't.

The future was unclear and distant. It was a black abyss of endless possibility, but if you dwelled too long on it, it would destroy you.

The past was gone, it could never be redone. It had been nice, while it had lasted. But in the end, it was truly over. And something new had taken it's place: the present.

The present had the potential to be even greater than the past, but if you only looked backwards you'd never know it. Everything in the world was happening here and now. And that's all that mattered.

"Gem, I regret what I hav-" Loki began.

"Stop, Loki. It doesn't matter." Gemma said softly, cutting him off delicately.

"No, Gem, really. I jus-"

Gemma cut him off with a kiss.

Loki's hands rose up and cupped her face, pulling her in closer. Gemma gripped his shoulders tightly in her own hands, not daring to let him go. Her eyes fluttered closed, but she could still feel his smile on her mouth.

They broke apart for a second to catch their breath. Loki's face was flushed with pleasure. His eyes shone with mirth and excitement. The resemblance to the young man he'd once been was enough to take Gemma's breath away.

Loki had betrayed her, but nothing could change that. What's done was done. And tomorrow he'd be gone; perhaps she'd never see him again. But none of that mattered, not yet. The only thing that mattered was those short five minutes, already ticking away on the clock.

She kissed him again and again, letting her body melt into his. Those five minutes seemed to last forever, and they were the best five minutes Gemma had ever experienced in her entire life; the feeling of Loki's cool hands on her face and his soft lips molding to hers, their bodies pressing together, yearning to become one. It was during those five minutes that Gemma realized she'd never truly been whole; not until then.

She slowly let herself sink away into the feel of Loki, the feel of being complete. It was all that mattered.

_'You can't control who you fall in love with, that's the way life is. People are made up of many layers, but if you're patient, you can come to love each and every one, no matter how dark and twisted they may be.'_

* * *

**Oh god, guys, so yeah. That's it! This is so incredible, it feels great to finish this story, I loved writing it so much! I hope you enjoyed reading it **

**I've started working on the sequel, so it should be up soon. The updates will be slower because I'm going away to a writing program for a couple of weeks and I don't really know how the situation will be there. **

**If your interested: The sequel is about what happens next (my own personal take on what happens after the Avengers/Thor 2 because I've never read those comics). It's going to be a lot darker, and the characters will really deepen. I'll go into what happens to the Shepherds also and Thanos and Loki's punishment. And of course, Loki and Gemma will meet again. I don't want to give too much away just yet ;)**

**Anyways: I promise it will be better than this story (which is expected, right? This was my first story so of course it's not perfect. Thats okay, right? gahhh) **

**I'll post the first chapter sometime in the next week. Updates will be slower this time, sorry! If you want to add me to author alerts, you'll get an email when I upload the next story. **

**Thanks so much for reading, guys! **


	19. Chapter 1 of Distress Signals

**AN: this is the sequel to my story "Running in Parallels". You might want to read that fic before this one, but you don't have to. This story picks up where RiP left off if you have any questions please PM me or leave it in the Reviews Section. **

**I hope this one will be just as good, (if not better) as RiP **

**This is my own plot since I have never read Thor or Loki comics and I (obviously) haven't seen Thor 2 yet. So this is my imagining of what happens after the end of Avengers. **

**Thank you for reading!**

Chapter 1

Punishment

**Loki**

All of Asgard was rippling with tension. In every home and on every corner, Aesir were stopping to hear the latest gossip; Prince Loki had returned. Crowds of men and women lined the streets, craning their necks and lifting their children atop their shoulders to see the royal procession.

Thor led a cuffed and gagged Loki to the castle, where the Allfather awaited, looking menacing with a stony faced Frigga by his side. Thor and his brother were escorted by warriors armed with an assortment of dangerous weapons; pointed threateningly at Loki's chest, should he try to make a move.

Thor's face was lacking in the usual beaming smile and his eyes were sad. All the same, he did appear to be in good health. The same could not be said of his brother. Loki's emerald eyes gleamed with malice over the steel mask that served the purpose of yielding his Silvertongue. His pale face was blossoming with purple bruises and his body was beaten and battered. All the same, the young prince did not give in to any signs of weakness. His face was an emotionless mask and his upright stride was proud and demanding.

Even when he came into earshot of the horrible things his citizens muttered about him, he did not waver. Instead, his smoldering eyes stared forward, boring into the face of the Allfather.

At last, the procession came to a halt at the marble steps to the palace doors. Thor and the rest of the warriors dropped on one knee in a respectful bow before Odin. Only Loki remained defiantly upright, refusing to acknowledge the man who had for so long pretended to be his father.

"Brother," Thor whispered, pleadingly as he tugged the hem of Loki's tunic, attempting to drag him down. The Aesir watched the scene before them with bated breath. Never before had anyone dared to defy the Allfather in such an outright manner.

Slowly, Odin nodded in approval to the bowing warriors and his gallant son. They got to their feet.

"Allfather, we present you with the traitor, Prince Loki." One of the warriors said, speaking clearly with proud, ringing tone. At those words, the warriors humbly bowed once more before stepping back and retreating into the crowd.

No one had noticed the look of pain that flickered across Thor's face when he'd heard the word 'traitor', or if they had, no one called any attention to the fact.

"Bring him in, my son." Odin ordered Thor.

"As you wish, Allfather." Thor replied, stepping forward with Loki at his side.

Slaves opened the heavy marble doors to the palace. Odin and Frigga entered first, followed by a range of attendants, advisors and judges. Last of all came Thor and Loki. The doors closed behind them, signaling to the Aesir that the show was over.

O o o

Once out of sight of the masses, Loki's countenance of strength dissipated, if only for a brief moment. The change did not go unnoticed by Thor, the ever-watchful guardian. He laid a large, calloused hand over his brother's slumping shoulders in a comforting pat. Loki tensed at the touch and quickly he resumed the cold, heartless aura. Thor sighed sorrowfully, withdrawing his hand.

Loki discreetly took in his surroundings. The gold tiled halls, arching doorways and marble walls brought with them a rush of nostalgia that not even the God of Lies could shake off.

He remembered the days he'd spent inside the palace walls as a young boy, playing games with his older brother as they raced through the halls with their friends. He remembered what a comfort the vast library had offered to him, when he'd grown older and his brother had forsaken him for warrior training. Back then; the only friends Loki had known were the immense volumes of dusty books. Those same books had taught him many wonderful things: magic and tricks and stories of epic battles from ages ago. Now, under entirely different circumstances, Loki longed to loose himself once more in the comfort of those books.

He was snapped into the present by Odin's voice; ringing sharp and clear through the Justice Hall, where they all stood. "Bring the offender forward," he was saying.

Thor gripped Loki's shoulders tightly as he gently urged him to the center of the room, were a straight-backed wooden chair waited for him. Loki shook his brother off and proceeded to the chair by his own accord.

As soon as he sat, enchanted chains snaked around his body like writhing snakes; holding him in place. Loki knew the exact spell to free himself, had he access to his power, but the cold metal cuffs around his slim wrists had efficiently cut him off from the source. He scowled instead around the room, taking in the faces of those who'd come to watch his trial.

His gaze lingered on the faces he knew best; Thor, Frigga, Odin; the people who'd he once believed to be his family.

"I invite you all to take a seat," Odin said, gesturing to the rows of comfortable chairs that were spread out in front of Loki, so he'd be forced to look at them, and they at him.

Odin himself strode silently to the podium that Loki could not see, but knew it was to his back.

"We shall begin," Odin said. He cleared his throat. "Today we have gathered to discuss the fate of my son, Prince Loki the traitor."

At the words, 'my son' Loki's face grew red with suppressed rage. Had he been able to speak, he would have interrupted the Allfather right then and there. He had to content himself with imagining the most painful ways he would make the man suffer.

"Charged with breaching the barriers of our alliance with the Jotuns, murder and attempted murder, disloyalty to family and to Asgard and the attempted take-over of Midgard," Odin began. "he has been brought in for the trial determining his proper punishment. Have you any suggestions, I invite you to speak now."

The silence in the room was deafening. At last, one of the royal advisors, a gaunt, severe man by the name of Salntur got to his feet.

"My lord," he bowed. "It only seems fitting that the weight of Prince Loki's crimes are used against him. If I may be so bold; he deserves none other than the same. I propose a public execution by means of drawing and quartering,," Salntur bowed once again before resuming his seat.

At his words, there was an audible gasp. Loki saw the look of shock on Thor and Frigga's faces. Others in the room seemed equally as appalled. Some were nodding their heads in agreement. What Loki would have done to see Odin's reaction!

Thor cleared his throat and got to his feet. "Father," he dipped his head in a respectful manner. "I repeal that," his voice was calm but forceful. Loki took note of a pulsing vein on his forehead.

He was disgusted by the emotion that shone in his 'brother's' eyes. When would the guy learn that Loki cared not for him? He tried so hard to earn what was not there, much to Loki's distaste.

Those present stirred with tension as the watched Thor speak. "I propose that my brother be given a chance to prove himself."

"Most humbly," Salntur had risen to his feet once more. "It is my belief that the prince has already proven himself. As a traitor."

"MY BROTHER IS NO TRAITOR!" Thor boomed, his biceps tensed. He looked absolutely formidable.

"SILENCE!" roared Odin, pounding his fist on the podium. Thor obeyed, but the fire in his eyes had not died out. "You will remember that this is an official hearing, all present are respectful men and women, and you shall conduct yourself as such," Odin commanded. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Allfather." Thor mumbled, glowering at Salntur.

"Very well. Salntur, you may take your seat," Odin said. The man obliged hastily. "Now, Thor. How do you propose we to carry out your idea?"

Thor tipped his head politely, trying to regain control of his emotions.

"I suggest that Prince Loki remain at my side," Thor intoned.

Loki rolled his eyes. "_I'd rather choose Salntur's punishment,"_ he thought, with an internal groan.

"Excuse me, sir," Salntur spoke up. Odin nodded his approval for the man to speak. He got to his feet. "Who's to say that the prince will not attempt the same?"

This time it was Frigga who spoke up. Everyone looked to her in surprise. The queen was not much one for participating in such matters. When she spoke, her voice was steady but pained.

"We shall strip my son of his powers and bind him to the will of his brother. I will not have my youngest _killed_ before all of Asgard."

Towards the end of her words, Frigga's voice had risen several octaves, wavering with suppressed tears.

Thor put a comforting hand to his mother's back as he helped her sit down.

"My lord, what about the Silvertongue?" Salntur persisted, grappling at his last straws.

"My brother cannot manipulate a flea when he is gagged," Thor said, gesturing to the metal device that held Loki's mouth closed.

Several of the Aesir twittered in agreement. Salntur and his followers scowled; it was clear that many in the room wished to see Loki's body be publicly mutilated. Loki thought he'd like to see _their _poor souls moaning in Hel for all eternity.

Odin cleared his throat.

"We seem to be in favor of either one of these two options. If any other has a third suggestion, I invite you to come forth and speak now," Odin surveyed the room. No one moved. "Very well. We shall take a vote."

Thor caught Loki's eye. 'It will be okay,' he mouthed. Loki scowled and looked away. He didn't care much for either punishment. In fact, he found the whole ordeal to be beneath him entirely.

"All in favor or Salntur's punishment," Odin boomed.

Loki didn't look to see who voted for his death. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. The darkness behind his eyelids provided the perfect chance for Loki to think about the only thing he actually cared about: a pretty young mortal girl. Gemma (who preferred the name 'Gem').

He thought back to the last time he'd seen her. It felt like such a long time ago, though in reality it was really only the day before yesterday. She'd come to him where he lay in his prison cell, cuffed with the magic limitations and beaten into submission.

The anger and pain in her voice physically hurt him. When he closed his eyes, he could still see the shock of his betrayal etched on her face. But then, Gemma seemed to have forgotten everything. The memory brought a smile to his lips, remembering when they had been covered with her own.

His relationship with Gemma was a complicated one. She was a soldier of SHEILD, a telepathic Mind Waif and his unwilling ally. He had tricked her into leaving SHEILD to help him fight war and bring peace to the world. He had hurt her deeply in ways he could not begin to understand. But for some reason, she'd grown on him until she was almost a part of him, someone he couldn't shake off. And the truth was, he didn't want to. One thing that Loki knew was that he would be forever in Gemma's debt because he owed her eternal gratitude for showing him another way of life… And he also really wanted to hold her in his arms once more…

"So it is," Odin boomed, jolting Loki into awareness. His sentence had been placed but he'd been too busy thinking of a girl he'd never see again to even hear what his sentence was.

His eyes flickered to Thor. The God of Thunder was beaming like a thousand sons. "_So I shall be forced to live by the great brute's side," _Loki mused, frowning beneath his gag.

O o o

_As punishment for his crimes, Prince Loki shall be stripped of his powers and be bound to the will of Prince Thor. He will learn to change his ways or else be publicly executed by means of drawing and quartering._

_**IMPORTANT AN: **  
_

_**hey guys so here's the first chapter! I'll be posting the rest of it here: s/8266838/1/Distress_Signal**_

_**(www . fanfiction s/ 8266838 /1 / Distress_Signal**_

_**SO if you want to read the rest FOLLOW THAT LINK. :)**_

_**Updates might be slower this time around because I'm going to be gone for a few weeks and I don't know what the internet situation will be like. :)**_


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